Korean Criminal Defense Lawyers: IPG Legal’s Criminal Defense Team

IPG Legal: Big Firm Experience & Connections with Boutique Firm Efficiency & Street Smarts

A criminal investigation in Korea can place your liberty, career, business, and ability to remain in Korea and travel abroad at risk. For a foreign national, the uncertainty is often compounded by unfamiliar procedures, language barriers, immigration issues and lack of close family support.

IPG Legal’s Criminal Defense Team represents individuals, executives, and civilian and active duty individuals serving in the armed forces in Korea facing criminal allegations in Korea. Our approach combines Korean courtroom experience, international legal experience, street smarts, direct communication, and careful preparation. The objective is to understand the accusation, identify the evidence that matters, and develop a defense that addresses the client’s circumstances from the beginning. In all cases criminal cases in Korea, because of Korean realities, it is best to have on your legal team a retired Korean court judge. IPG Legal team includes two senior Korean court judges, the first non-Korean to work for the Korean court system and senior attorneys with decades handling matters for expat individuals and corporations. IPG Legal is one of the most experienced firms handlings criminal defense matters for expats in Korea and we have one of the best success rates with over 70 not guilty verdicts and hundreds of dismissals and suspended sentences.

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IPG Legal’s Korean Criminal Defense Team

IPG Legal’s practice includes former senior judges, prosecutors, former in house attorneys and international lawyers. Key attorneys on our criminal defense team includes the following individuals:

Sean Hayes, New York attorney with more than two decades of experience working on Korean and international legal matters and was the first non-Korean employed by the Korean court system. Sean served as a Research Officer at the Constitutional Court of Korea. His background includes teaching positions at Kookmin University College of Law and Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, together with hands-on experience as a business owner and adviser. Sean ran for Attorney General for the State of New York and regularly appears in international news progams.

At IPG Legal, Sean works alongside Korean attorneys, retired judges, and former prosecutors on criminal defense matters involving foreign nationals, business executives, and U.S. military-connected clients. His approach emphasizes early intervention, careful examination of the evidence, candid advice, and clear communication, with particular attention to the immigration, employment, business, and international consequences of a criminal case in Korea.

Judge Haenam Jung, an IPG Legal Senior Partner, is a retired senior Korean judge and former Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court of Korea that has worked in the Korean legal system for over 40 years. His judicial career included service at the Seoul High Court and as Chief Judge at Suwon District Court. Before joining IPG Legal, he served as the representative attorney of Minju Law Firm, where his practice included criminal, intellectual property, real estate, administrative, and fair trade matters. At IPG Legal, Judge Jung handles high-stakes criminal cases and complex litigation involving Korean and international clients. His judicial background brings a valuable perspective to defense strategy, the assessment of prosecution evidence, and the preparation of persuasive legal arguments for Korean courts. He holds a LLB and a Master degree from Seoul National University and an LLM from Southern Methodist University.

Judge Gidu Oh, an IPG Legal Senior Consulting Attorney, brings 30 years of Korean judicial experience to his legal practice, including service in the Seoul High Court’s criminal appeals division handling corruption cases, as a presiding judge in the Suwon District Court’s criminal appeals division, and as a presiding judge handling criminal matters at the Incheon District Court. He also served as a judge assigned to the Constitutional Court of Korea. Judge Oh holds master’s and doctoral degrees in law from Seoul National University and was a visiting scholar at Yale Law School. His doctoral research examined the collection and use of computer-related evidence in criminal proceedings.

Jiwon Min, a Partner at IPG Legal and Korean attorney-at-law, represents clients in criminal defense, complex international litigation, employment disputes, and international child abduction matters. She holds an LL.M. from Fordham University, a J.D. from Sungkyunkwan University and a BS from Korea University. Her work includes advising on responses to police summonses and representing clients in disputes involving overlapping personal, commercial, and regulatory concerns. Jiwon’s approach emphasizes proactive advocacy, careful preparation, and direct communication, with attention to both the immediate legal issues and the wider consequences for the client’s family, career, and business.

Korean Criminal Defense for Expats, Executives, and Military-Connected Clients

IPG Legal’s published criminal defense experience includes representing business executives, expats, and U.S. active-duty and civilian military personnel. The practice records more than 70 not-guilty verdicts in Korean courts and work on an extradition matter before a U.S. federal court.

For these clients, a case can extend beyond the immediate charge. Immigration status, employment, professional obligations, travel, and proceedings in another jurisdiction may require separate attention. Military-connected matters can also raise questions concerning SOFA status and coordination with other counsel.

Korean Criminal Law & Defense: Complete Article Directory

The following directory contains all 199 posts in The Korean Law Blog’s Korean Criminal Law archive, together with 36 additional related posts published elsewhere on the blog, reviewed on October 22, 2026.

The archive includes legal analysis, case updates, historical news, commentary, and firm announcements. Articles are organized by the publication year recorded on the website. Older articles should be read in their historical context; some discuss laws, proposals, or practices that have subsequently changed. Some titles below have been shortened for readability.

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1999 — As Dated in the Website Archive

Additional Criminal Law, Enforcement, and Related Articles

The following 36 posts are published outside the Korean Criminal Law category. They cover related criminal liability, enforcement, civil consequences, and professional commentary.

For assistance with a criminal investigation or criminal defense matter in Korea, contact IPG Legal.

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