John Choi

John Choi is an American attorney and politician who has served as county attorney of Ramsey County, Minnesota, since 2011. He previously served as Saint Paul city attorney from 2006 to 2010. Born in South Korea, Choi is the first Korean American chief prosecutor in the United States. His tenure has included prosecutions and progressive policy initiatives related to sex trafficking, juvenile diversion, cash bail, and traffic stops. Choi was first elected in 2010, and has been reelected in 2014, 2018, and 2022.

Early life and career Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his parents in 1973, when he was three years old. His family lived for a time in Skyline Tower in Saint Paul. Choi graduated from Saint Thomas Academy and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Marquette University in 1992. He received a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law in 1995 and later was a Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota. While attending law school, he worked on the mayoral campaign of Saint Paul City Council member Bob Long.

After graduation, Choi worked as an associate attorney at Hessian, McKasy & Soderberg, where his practice focused on commercial litigation. He later joined Kennedy & Graven, a Minnesota firm that advises local governments, and became a partner there after three years. In 2006, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman appointed Choi as city attorney.

Tenure as county attorney

2010 election In 2010, Choi stepped down as city attorney to run for Ramsey County Attorney, an office vacated by the retiring Susan Gaertner. He received the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement and the endorsement of the Minnesota Star Tribune, winning the August primary.

Choi ultimately prevailed over David T. Schultz in the November general election by 7 points.

Notable cases During his tenure, Choi’s office brought charges in several high-profile cases. In 2015, his office charged the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis with failing to protect children from sexual abuse.

In 2016, after the police shooting of Philando Castile, Choi appointed an outside attorney to assist reviewing the case, later charging St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. Yanez was acquitted in 2017.

Policy and reform efforts Choi has supported changes to local prosecution and pretrial practices. His office reduced its reliance on cash bail and, in 2021, announced that it would generally decline to prosecute cases arising only from non-public-safety traffic stops, such as stops for equipment violations. In 2023, Choi and Saint Paul officials said that ending low-level traffic stops had not led to an increase in crime in the county.

Choi has supported efforts to improve institutional responses to sexual assault, including training for law enforcement and prosecutors and promoting victim-centered practices. His office has been active in anti-sex trafficking initiatives, including a statewide effort among prosecutors to avoid charging minors for prostitution and to instead treat them as victims.

In juvenile cases, Choi’s office developed the (Re)Imagining Justice for Youth initiative, which uses community-based accountability and diversion for some young people accused of offenses. A 2026 report described lower 12-month recidivism among youth whose cases were resolved through community accountability than among youth whose cases proceeded through traditional court processes.