Partner
Hodong CHA
Criminal Defense (Investigations)
주요업무분야
Criminal Defense (Investigations)
Criminal Defense (Litigation)
Digital Assets Center
Corporate
Finance Tax
Trade Secret · Company Information Protection
Occupational Safety · Serious Accidents
Construction Litigation
Anti-corruption
Litigation & Arbitration
Capital Market Disputes
Antitrust & Competition
최근 본 구성원
Hodong Cha is a partner in the Criminal Defense Group at Lee & Ko. He joined the firm in 2026 following a distinguished 14-year career as a public prosecutor, mostly recently reserving as Chief Prosecutor at the Seosan Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office.
Throughout his prosecutorial career, Mr. Cha held a series of key positions at the core of Korea’s criminal enforcement system, including roles at the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Affairs Bureau and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (SPO). At the SPO, he worked in both the Planning and Coordination Department and the Trial, Litigation and Sentencing team, and he was also assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, where he served in the Special Investigation Division and the Corporate Finance Division. In these capacities, he handled numerous complex and high-profile matters, including anti-corruption investigations involving senior public officials, Capital Markets Act cases such as market manipulation of listed companies, investigations involving executives of major conglomerates, trade secret and technology-related disputes, and serious workplace accident cases under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
In addition to his investigative and trial experience, Mr. Cha was responsible at the SPO for the comprehensive review and interpretation of statutes, conducting legislative and policy analysis across a broad range of fields, including criminal law and procedure, civil and commercial law, and fair-trade regulation.
Building on this deep institutional experience, Mr. Cha now advises and represents clients in white-collar criminal matters and related risk management issues, with a particular focus on corporate governance, finance, capital markets, and digital assets. He is known for delivering clear, strategic, and high-caliber solutions tailored to the legal and business realities faced by his clients.
Throughout his prosecutorial career, Mr. Cha held a series of key positions at the core of Korea’s criminal enforcement system, including roles at the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Affairs Bureau and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (SPO). At the SPO, he worked in both the Planning and Coordination Department and the Trial, Litigation and Sentencing team, and he was also assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, where he served in the Special Investigation Division and the Corporate Finance Division. In these capacities, he handled numerous complex and high-profile matters, including anti-corruption investigations involving senior public officials, Capital Markets Act cases such as market manipulation of listed companies, investigations involving executives of major conglomerates, trade secret and technology-related disputes, and serious workplace accident cases under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
In addition to his investigative and trial experience, Mr. Cha was responsible at the SPO for the comprehensive review and interpretation of statutes, conducting legislative and policy analysis across a broad range of fields, including criminal law and procedure, civil and commercial law, and fair-trade regulation.
Building on this deep institutional experience, Mr. Cha now advises and represents clients in white-collar criminal matters and related risk management issues, with a particular focus on corporate governance, finance, capital markets, and digital assets. He is known for delivering clear, strategic, and high-caliber solutions tailored to the legal and business realities faced by his clients.
주요처리사례
- [Corporate Crime & Finance]
- Market Manipulation & Insider Trading: Represented and prosecuted numerous cases involving stock price manipulation and the use of undisclosed material information within KOSDAQ-listed companies.
- Capital Markets Act Violations: Extensive experience in handling violations of the Capital Markets Act, embezzlement, and breach of duty involving CEOs of major conglomerates and listed corporations.
- [Industrial Safety & Serious Workplace Accidents]
- Serious Industrial Accidents: Managed a wide array of cases involving major industrial fatalities and injuries under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
- Unfair Labor Practices: Handled multiple investigations into allegations of unfair labor practices at leading conglomerates.
- [Anti-Corruption & Special Investigations]
- Public Sector Corruption: Conducted high-profile investigations into corruption involving cabinet-level officials and violations of the Political Funds Act.
- Government Integrity: Managed numerous bribery and misconduct cases involving high-ranking civil servants.
- [Trade Secrets & Data Protection]
- Intellectual Property Protection: Resolved multiple cases concerning the misappropriation and leakage of trade secrets for both major enterprises and SMEs.
- [General Criminal Litigation]
- Entertainment & Media: Handled contractual and criminal disputes between high-profile artists and their management agencies.
- Real Estate & Construction: Managed complex lien disputes related to multi-purpose residential-commercial complexes.
- Digital Sexual Crimes: Served as the Lead Investigator (Task Force Head) for the "Telegram N-th Room" case, demonstrating expertise in cyber-criminal litigation.
학력
| 2016 | Duke University School of Law – LL.M. |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Korea University Graduate School of Law – LL.M. |
| 2009 | Judicial Research & Training Institute, Supreme Court of Korea |
| 2003 | Korea University – LL.B. |
경력
| 2026-Present | Lee & Ko |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Chief Prosecutor, Seosan District Prosecutor’s Office |
| 2023-2025 | Research Prosecutor, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Planning and Coordination Department) |
| 2023 | Prosecutor, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office [Criminal Division 7 (Finance and Education)] |
| 2022-2023 | Dispatch of Prosecutor’s Office Constitutional Issues Research Task Force |
| 2020-2022 | Prosecutor, Daegu District Prosecutors' Office |
| 2018-2020 | Research Prosecutor, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (Sentencing, Trial Litigation) |
| 2017-2018 | Dispatch to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Special Division 3) |
| 2016 | INT Consultant, World Bank |
| 2014-2017 | Prosecutor, Cheonan Branch, Daejeon District Prosecutor's Office |
| 2012-2014 | Prosecutor, Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office |
| 2009-2012 | Air Force Judge Advocate |
언어
| Korean and English |
저서/활동/기타
- 생성형 인공지능(Generative AI) 기술 규제방향에 대한 입법론적 고찰 (공저, 학술논문, 2023)
- 메타버스 공간에서의 성폭력 범죄와 형사법적 규제애 대한 연구(공저, 학술논문, 2022)
- 비상상고 제도의 전향적 운용 필요성 (학술논문, 2021)
- 조세소송에 있어 당초처분과 경정처분의 관계 (고려대학교 대학원 석사학위논문, 2012)
- 군용비행장 소음소송과 관련한 소고 (공군법률논집, 2010)
- 검찰 ‘중대재해 STARTER KIT’ (판결문 및 결정문 분석) 매뉴얼 집필 (2025)
- 검찰 가상자산 집행 매뉴얼 집필 (2022)
- 형사사법과 검사의 독립성, 공정성 확보 (학술논문, 2020)
- 법률신문 필진(2022~현재)
