Shin & Kim LLC (Managing Partner Jong-Han Oh) announced the launch of the White-Collar Criminal Defense Team to provide specialized, systematic legal defense in criminal cases involving corporate executives, employees, and representative directors.

Criminal cases involving corporate officers and employees have implications beyond individual criminal punishment. These matters may have significant implications for corporate management as a whole, including corporate criminal liability under joint penal provisions, substantial employer liability, and regulatory risks, such as restrictions on participation in public tenders. There may also be reputational damage resulting from mandatory disclosures and media coverage.

Cases of this nature often hinge on the immediate actions taken during the initial stages of an investigation because these actions can influence the course and outcome of the case. Additionally, the trial stage necessitates a thorough grasp of intricate factual contexts and legal principles. To this end, Shin & Kim has established the White-Collar Criminal Defense Team and appointed former judges with extensive criminal trial experience to lead its efforts. With this new team, Shin & Kim’s capabilities now extend throughout the entire process, from investigation to all phases of criminal trial proceedings.

The White-Collar Criminal Defense Team is led by Mr. Chang-Young Choi (Judicial Research and Training Institute (JRTI) Class of 24), who has been widely recognized for his high level of expertise in the field of criminal trials. Mr. Choi previously served as Chief of the Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, as Criminal Policy Review Officer and as Chief of the Information Management Bureau of the National Court Administration. He later concluded his judicial career as a Presiding Judge at the Daejeon High Court before founding the law firm Haekwang LLC, where he served as Managing Partner. In particular, Mr. Choi has successfully handled numerous major criminal cases, including representing the head of a leading Korean conglomerate and securing an acquittal in connection with alleged violations of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.

In addition, the team’s core practitioners include Mr. Han-Soon Choi (JRTI Class of 27), who handled numerous criminal matters while focusing on antitrust and labor cases at the Seoul High Court; Mr. Moon-Kyung Kang (JRTI Class of 28), a former High Court Judge with extensive expertise in criminal matters across the broader public law domain, including antitrust, taxation, and labor; Mr. Se-Jong Kim (JRTI Class of 30), who previously served as Judicial Support Review Officer (Criminal Division) at the National Court Administration and as Head of the Administrative Support Division of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission; Mr. Tai-Heon Ha (JRTI Class of 33), the only attorney in Korea with prior experience as a Presiding Judge and a former medical professional, who has served as a High Court Judge at the Seoul High Court and as a Research Judge at the Supreme Court, achieving outstanding results in numerous cases involving capital markets, virtual assets, and corporate crime; and Mr. Hun-Tae Doh (JRTI Class of 33), a leading tax criminal litigator who served as a Research Judge at the Supreme Court, including as Chief Research Judge for tax matters.

Furthermore, the Team has a strong bench of litigation partners with extensive courtroom experience. This includes Managing Partner Jin-Ho Jung (JRTI Class of 20), who oversees Shin & Kim’s litigation practice; Mr. Yong-Ho Kim (JRTI Class of 25), who has handled numerous criminal cases related to construction and urban redevelopment projects; Mr. Chan-Young Cho (JRTI Class of 29), a former High Court Judge of the Seoul High Court; Mr. Soon-Youl Kwon (JRTI Class of 31); and Mr. Joo-Tag Yoon (JRTI Class of 33), who previously served as a Judge at the Patent Court and as a High Court Judge on the Intellectual Property Division of the Seoul High Court.

The team also includes Ms. Jin-Hee Lee (JRTI Class of 35), a pharmaceutical and life sciences specialist who earned a B.S. and an M.S. from the Seoul National University College of Pharmacy, and a Ph.D. in law from the Seoul National University School of Law, specializing in pharmaceutical inventions and formerly serving at the Patent Court; and Mr. Young-Ho Seo (JRTI Class of 35), who previously served in the Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court and as a Research Judge at the Supreme Court, and who specialized in environmental law at Seoul National University. In addition, many other seasoned litigators with diverse dispute resolution experience in the courts are positioned within the team.

Moreover, further synergy is anticipated through the involvement of practitioners like Mr. Joo-Yeon Jo (JRTI Class of 33), Mr. Tae-Seung Kim (Bar Exam Class of 3), Mr. Seong-Jin Kim (JRTI Class of 43), who have extensive experience in the prosecution, police force, and Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, as well as Mr. Min-Hyun Lee (JRTI Class of 44), who has handled numerous high-profile corporate finance and criminal cases.

Building on this exceptional depth of talent, Shin & Kim’s White-Collar Criminal Defense Team is well-positioned to respond effectively to all types of criminal matters affecting its corporate clients. Specifically, the team intends to cover all categories of white-collar and corporate criminal cases, including:

  • property crimes (breach of trust, embezzlement, fraud, etc.);
  • capital markets crimes (market manipulation, insider trading, and other unfair trading practices);
  • tax and financial crimes; industrial property-related crimes (violations of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, theft of trade secrets, etc.);
  • corruption offenses (bribery, receipt of bribes in breach of duty, etc.);
  • emerging business sectors-related crimes (including virtual assets);
  • safety and regulatory offenses (violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, etc.);
  • competition law and election-related crimes (violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, the Public Official Election Act, etc.);
  • healthcare and pharmaceutical crimes (including rebate-related offenses); and
  • environmental crimes (violations of the Food Sanitation Act, environmental laws and regulations, etc.).

Celebrating the team's debut, Jong-Han Oh, the managing partner at Shin & Kim, stated, “White-collar and corporate criminal matters are more than just disputes. They directly affect a company’s existence and the stability of its management.” He added, “Our White-Collar Criminal Defense Team will do its utmost to minimize criminal risk for our corporate clients by providing strategic assistance that accurately identifies the essence of each case from the earliest stages of an investigation through the later stages of criminal trial proceedings.”

Meanwhile, Shin & Kim has continued to demonstrate its competitiveness in criminal defense, achieving remarkable results in complex and sophisticated cases. These include cases involving embezzlement and breach of trust by corporate executives and employees, occupational breach of trust cases involving officers of financial institutions, unfair trading cases involving executives and employees of securities firms, market manipulation and insider trading matters, tax evasion cases, technology leakage cases arising from M&A transactions, and pharmaceutical rebate cases, where our professionals successfully secured acquittals or full exemptions from forfeiture and additional collection orders. Shin & Kim’s capabilities have also been recognized internationally as evidenced by their elevation to Band 1 in the litigation category of the 2026 Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide.