The purpose of this work was to examine the antibacterial activity derived from a lactic acid bacterium isolated from korean rice wine, called makgeolli. Various physiological and biochemical properties of this strain were characterized. Both the BIOLOG system and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing were utilized for identification, and the strain was designated as Lactobacillus casei HK-9, and registered in GenBank as [JQ951606]. Growth rate, production of organic acids (e.g., lactic acid and acetic acid), and pH changes during growth were monitored. The maximum concentrations of lactic acid and acetic acid were approximately 576 mM and 199 mM, respectively, and pH was changed from 7.00 to 3.74 after 72 h of incubation. HPLC was used to confirm the production of lactic acid and acetic acid. Significant antimicrobial activity of the concentrated supernatant was demonstrated against various food-poison causing bacteria (e.g., Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis). Ethanol tolerance of L. casei HK-9 showed up to 12% of ethanol within the culture.