John Choi

John Choi made history on January 3, 2011, when he was sworn in as the first Korean-American chief prosecutor in the country. Since taking office, John has become a state and national leader in the fight against sex trafficking. John’s innovative approach to holding abusers accountable, while working collaboratively with advocacy agencies to help victims, has transformed the way government intervenes in domestic violence and sex trafficking situations. In addition, John has been a champion of engaging men to prevent violence against women and children; successfully advanced legislation to reunite families when it’s in foster children’s best interest; implemented new performance-based outcomes for juvenile diversion programs; developed the use of lethality assessment protocols and GPS technology to keep domestic violence victims safe; created pre-charge diversion for adults; and established a Veterans Court.

Throughout his public tenure, John has been innovative in reforming and finding efficiencies in the criminal justice system. In his previous capacity as Saint Paul City Attorney, John was recognized with the International Municipal Lawyers Association’s top award for distinguished public service. Prior to his successful career in the public sector, John spent a decade in private practice, making partner in six years while focused on government relations, administrative law, municipal law and civil litigation. John holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Marquette University, a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law and was a Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota.

John participated in the first Square One Roundtable convening “Examining the History of Racial and Economic Inequality: Implications for Justice Policy and Practice.”