Former Gwangju Chief Prosecutor Park Hyuncheol, Who Combines Investigation, Policy, and Command, Joins The Kim Law Firm as Representative Attorney

Served in all three core leadership posts within the prosecution service
Strong track record in labor, construction, serious industrial accidents, food, and health cases
The Kim Law Firm expected to further strengthen its criminal and corporate risk response

Park Hyuncheol (54, 31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), former chief prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, who has held three of the prosecution service's core positions in investigation, policy, and directing police investigations, has joined The Kim Law Firm as a representative attorney.

The Kim Law Firm launched its "Special Criminal Cases Response Center" last year, led mainly by former prosecutors such as Koo Bonjin, former head of the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (20th class), Jung Moonsik, former presiding judge of the Changwon District Court who retired as a senior judge after serving as a prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (32nd class), and Cho Yongwoo, former senior prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (34th class). With the addition of former chief prosecutor Park, the firm's capabilities in criminal and corporate risk response are expected to be further strengthened.

Former Gwangju Chief Prosecutor Park Hyuncheol, Who Combines Investigation, Policy, and Command, Joins The Kim Law Firm as Representative Attorney

Park Hyuncheol, former Gwangju District Prosecutor General, joined The Kim Law Firm as Representative Attorney. The Kim Law Firm

According to the legal community on the 23rd, The Kim Law Firm recently recruited former chief prosecutor Park, who left the prosecution at the end of last month after serving there for 25 years, as a representative attorney.

Born in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, former chief prosecutor Park graduated from Tongyeong High School and the Department of Law at Korea University. He passed the 41st National Bar Examination in 1999 and completed the 31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

After completing the Judicial Research and Training Institute with excellent grades, he was first appointed as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office in 2002. He then built up hands-on investigative experience while serving as a prosecutor at the Gongju Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, the Jeju District Prosecutors' Office, the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, and the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. While working in the Public Security Division at the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office, he handled various labor-management disputes and industrial accident cases. During his time as a prosecutor at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, he served as chief prosecutor of the Joint Investigation Team on Food Fraud and was recognized for his achievements in investigating companies that falsely certified eco-friendly agricultural products, for which he received a commendation from the Minister of Justice.

From February 2010, he worked for two years as a prosecutor in the Crime Prevention Planning Division of the Ministry of Justice, where he was responsible for policy work related to correctional administration. From February 2012, he was seconded for one year to the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

After serving as a research officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, he became head of the Miryang Branch of the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office. During the "Miryang Sejong Hospital Fire," a major accident in which 47 people died and 145 were injured, he served as head of the investigation team and demonstrated leadership by swiftly identifying the cause of the fire and prosecuting those responsible through close cooperation with the police and other agencies.

Former chief prosecutor Park went on to serve as head of the 6th Criminal Division of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, which is dedicated to construction-related crimes, and then held a series of key positions including director of Policy Planning at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, head of the 1st Criminal Division at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, and head of the 2nd Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, thereby gaining experience across both investigative and policy/planning departments.

While serving as head of the 6th Criminal Division at the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, a prosecution office focused on construction crimes, he personally led the investigation into the "Dongdaemun-gu Reconstruction and Redevelopment Corruption" case, resulting in the indictment of 25 people, and personally conducted a press briefing on the investigation results. As head of the 2nd Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is responsible for cases involving food, health, medical services, and serious industrial accidents, he was in charge of the trial proceedings in the "humidifier disinfectant" case.

During the tenure of former Prosecutor General Lee Wonseok, he served as spokesperson for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for more than a year, smoothly handling media relations and policy communications thanks to his strong interpersonal skills.

He was then promoted to the position of the 2nd Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, where he oversaw the Trial Department, which is responsible for financial and corporate crimes, construction and real estate crimes, crimes against women and children, as well as public prosecution, state litigation, and enforcement of judgments. In May 2024, he was promoted to chief prosecutor and transferred to the position of deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office.

In July of the following year, he was appointed chief prosecutor of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office. He left the prosecution in January this year, opened his own law practice, and recently joined The Kim Law Firm as a representative attorney.

In addition to his work in criminal cases involving the punishment of offenders, former chief prosecutor Park is also regarded as being well-versed in restorative justice, including offender rehabilitation and probation, due to his experience working at the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and serving as chair of the Seoul Probation Deliberation Committee. His experience working at the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, where he was dispatched to handle tasks such as managing elections for overseas Koreans and was thereby exposed to the work of diplomats, is also considered a distinctive part of his background.

The Kim Law Firm Seoul Office, Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The Kim Law Firm

In particular, he worked at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at every key rank level: as a line prosecutor (research officer), as deputy chief prosecutor (head research officer), as senior prosecutor (director of Policy Planning), and as deputy chief prosecutor (spokesperson). Through these roles, he gained broad experience not only in all aspects of prosecutorial investigations but also in criminal justice systems and policy, and in external communication work.

During his time as a research officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, he completed a one-year course in Fair Trade Law at the Graduate School of Legal Studies at Korea University, produced reports related to fair trade, published numerous booklets on topics such as the economy and crime and methods of collecting investigative materials, and was certified by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office as a public specialist prosecutor in the field of criminal intelligence.

Above all, during his 25 years as a prosecutor, former chief prosecutor Park earned deep trust from his seniors, juniors, and colleagues, being evaluated as a prosecutor who combined outstanding investigative and planning abilities with cool-headed, balanced judgment and a warm, humane character.

Meanwhile, The Kim Law Firm, which began in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do and has expanded its offices to Daegu, Seoul, and New York to become a nationwide law firm, has recorded an average annual growth rate of 30% since it was founded in 2016 by representative attorney Kim Hyungseok (38th class). It has now grown into a firm where about 100 people, including attorneys and experts from various fields, work together.

In addition to former Seongnam Branch head Koo Bonjin, former presiding judge of the Changwon District Court Jung Moonsik, and former senior prosecutor at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office Cho Yongwoo, the firm also includes figures such as Choi Eunsu, former chief judge of the Daejeon High Court and the Patent Court (9th class), Kim Sehee, deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (39th class), former president of the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency Kim Hyungbae, and former head of the International Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency Shin Soongmoon.

The Kim Law Firm office, Seongsan-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The Kim Law Firm

The Kim Law Firm has strong capabilities in corporate legal affairs such as M&A, corporate governance, management control disputes, and corporate rehabilitation and bankruptcy; in criminal cases such as economic crimes and corporate investigation response; and in real estate and construction matters such as reconstruction, redevelopment, construction disputes, and related advisory work. It also stands out in family and inheritance cases, including divorce and division of property and inheritance disputes, as well as in individual and corporate rehabilitation, bankruptcy, and insolvency cases.

Representative attorney Kim Hyungseok said, "We have brought on board a professional who has a deep understanding of the entire prosecution organization and who combines on-the-ground experience with policy expertise," adding, "With this recruitment, we expect The Kim Law Firm's capabilities in criminal and corporate risk response to reach a new level."

Former chief prosecutor Park Hyuncheol said, "Rather than pursuing grand fame, I want to become 'a reliable neighbor who comes to mind first when you have a legal concern,'" and added, "I promise to be a strong supporter who protects clients' legitimate rights and interests with competence and sincerity."

He is..

Passed the 41st National Bar Examination

Completed the 31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute

Graduated from the Department of Law, Korea University

Graduated from Tongyeong High School

Major career in the prosecution service

Chief Prosecutor, Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office

Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office (chief prosecutor level)

2nd Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office

25th Spokesperson, Supreme Prosecutors' Office

Head of the 2nd Criminal Division, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office

Head of the 1st Criminal Division, Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office