Lee & Ko is pleased to announce that Yeong Cheol Kim (JRTI 33rd), former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, has joined the firm. Mr. Kim’s appointment reflects the firm’s continued efforts to strengthen its Criminal Practice Group by recruiting a seasoned professional with extensive expertise in anti-corruption matters, in line with recent government policy initiatives aimed at enhancing fairness and transparency in the market.
Mr. Kim served as a prosecutor for 21 years. As a founding member of the Joint Securities Crimes Investigation Team, he spent three years handling numerous financial and securities-related cases involving violations of the Capital Markets Act, including stock price manipulation, fraudulent unfair trading, and the use of material non-public information. He further built his career in departments with direct investigative authority, including the Anti-Corruption Division, where he led investigations into major corporate cases and large-scale financial scandals involving savings banks, as well as tax and customs evasion cases, thereby establishing a strong foundation in corporate and financial crime matters.
Mr. Kim received his LL.B. from Seoul National University and was appointed as a prosecutor in 2004. During his prosecutorial career, he served in a number of key divisions, including the Special Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and the Joint Securities Crimes Investigation Team at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office. He also served on the Special Prosecutor’s Office investigating the Park Geun-hye–Choi Soon-sil scandal, and later served in the Anti-Corruption Division of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. He subsequently held senior prosecutorial positions, including Deputy Senior Prosecutor of the Special Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Head of the Anti-Corruption Division 2 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Director of the Anti-Corruption Division 1 at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office.
Drawing on this extensive experience, Mr. Kim will focus his practice in Lee & Ko’s Criminal Practice Group on criminal matters involving corporate, financial and securities issues, as well as tax, customs and virtual asset matters.
Managing Partner Sang Gon Kim commented, “With the addition of Mr. Kim, we have further strengthened the capabilities of our Criminal Practice Group,” and added, “We will continue our efforts to ensure that Lee & Ko’s Criminal Practice Group maintains its position among the leading practices in Korea.” He also noted, “Lee & Ko will continue to make bold investments in recruiting and developing outstanding talent across all practice areas, including criminal matters, in order to remain at the forefront of the legal industry and to provide the highest level of legal services to our clients.”