Partner
Hun HEO
Criminal Defense (Investigations)
Expertise
Recently reviewed Professionals
Hun Heo joined Lee & Ko in 2025 following a distinguished 17-year career as a public prosecutor, most recently serving as Chief of the Public Investigation Department at the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. He brings extensive expertise in serious industrial accident cases, labor-related criminal matters, public security and election law, and corporate crime investigations.
Throughout his prosecutorial career, Mr. Heo held a number of key leadership and investigative roles, including in the Public Security Divisions of the Seoul Central and Busan District Prosecutors’ Offices, Deputy Chief Prosecutor responsible for serious industrial accident cases at the Anyang Branch, Chief Prosecutor of the Public Investigation Division at the Seongnam Branch, and Head of the Miryang Branch.
He led and supervised multiple high-profile cases, including a fatal fire at a battery manufacturing facility, a major wage arrears case involving the chairman of a major corporation, and an obstruction of union activities case involving an affiliate of a large conglomerate. In 2022, he was certified as a Specialized Prosecutor in Labor Affairs by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and earned his master’s degree in labor law from Korea University.
With a strong academic foundation and extensive experience across all stages of criminal investigation and prosecution, Mr. Heo is highly regarded for his expertise in industrial safety and serious accident cases, labor and employment criminal matters, election and political fund violations, corporate misconduct, and anti-corruption investigations.
Throughout his prosecutorial career, Mr. Heo held a number of key leadership and investigative roles, including in the Public Security Divisions of the Seoul Central and Busan District Prosecutors’ Offices, Deputy Chief Prosecutor responsible for serious industrial accident cases at the Anyang Branch, Chief Prosecutor of the Public Investigation Division at the Seongnam Branch, and Head of the Miryang Branch.
He led and supervised multiple high-profile cases, including a fatal fire at a battery manufacturing facility, a major wage arrears case involving the chairman of a major corporation, and an obstruction of union activities case involving an affiliate of a large conglomerate. In 2022, he was certified as a Specialized Prosecutor in Labor Affairs by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and earned his master’s degree in labor law from Korea University.
With a strong academic foundation and extensive experience across all stages of criminal investigation and prosecution, Mr. Heo is highly regarded for his expertise in industrial safety and serious accident cases, labor and employment criminal matters, election and political fund violations, corporate misconduct, and anti-corruption investigations.
Representative Cases
- [Industrial Safety and Serious Accidents (Labor Sector)]
- Handled numerous major industrial accident cases, including a fatal fire at a battery manufacturing plant.
- Represented cases involving unfair labor practices and obstruction of union activities at large corporations.
- Managed multiple cases concerning individual employment relations, such as unpaid wages by major corporate executives and violations of dispatch-related laws.
- [Election and Political Funds]
- Handled numerous election law violation cases involving elected officials, including members of the National Assembly, superintendents of education, and heads of local governments.
- Represented high-ranking public officials, including cabinet members, in election law violation cases.
- Managed cases involving election law violations by cooperative association heads and Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperative chairpersons.
- [Corporate Crime and Special Investigations]
- Represented cases involving breach of duty and other corporate misconduct by executives of major companies.
- Handled multiple corruption cases involving high-ranking public officials.
- [Construction and Real Estate]
- Managed fraud, embezzlement, and bribery cases related to real estate development and project implementation.
- [Trade Secrets and Corporate Information Protection]
- Handled trade secret leakage cases involving small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Represented major corporations in cases related to violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.
Education
| 2022 | Korea University – M.A. in Labor Law |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Visiting Student Course at Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain |
| 2006 | Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea |
| 2004 | Korea University – B.A. in Law |
Work Experience
| 2025-Present | Lee & Ko |
|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | Public Prosecution Office Suwon Deputy Prosecutor |
| 2023-2024 | Prosecutor, 1st Division of Criminal Affairs, Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Prosecutor's Office (Public Safety, Dedicated to Serious Disaster) |
| 2022-2023 | Chief of Miryang Branch of Changwon District Prosecutor's Office |
| 2021-2022 | Suwon District Prosecutor's Office Anyang Branch's Deputy Chief Prosecutor (Detective of Criminal Division 1) |
| 2019-2021 | Korea University, Kyung Hee University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and University of Seoul Law School adjunct professor |
| 2015-2019 | Prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Public Security Department 1, Criminal Department 7, Public Criminal Investigation Department) |
| 2013-2015 | Prosecutor of Busan District Prosecutors' Office (Prosecution Department, Public Security Department) |
| 2011-2013 | Chuncheon District Attorney's Office Sokcho Branch Prosecutor's Office |
| 2009-2011 | Prosecutor of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Detective Division 3, Ministry of Trial and Transmission) |
| 2006-2009 | Army Law Officers (5th Division, 1st Division) |
Languages
| Korean and English |
Awards & Recognitions
| 2022 | Certified as a Specialized Prosecutor in Labor Affairs by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Commendation from the Prosecutor General for achievements in Public Security |
| 2011 | Commendation from the Minister of Justice for contributions to Victim Protection |
Publications / Presentations / ETC
- Interpretive Guide to the Punitive Provisions of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, 2022, Author)
- The Concept of Employer as the Subject of Unfair Labor Practices: Focusing on the Employer as the Counterparty in Collective Bargaining" (Master’s Thesis, Graduate School of Labor Studies, Korea University, 2022)
