Six strains of intestinal pathogenic bacteria were inoculated into kimchi at the preparation time, and the influence of kimchi fermentation on the growth of these pathogenic bacteria was investigated. The population of coliform bacteria in the kimchi raw materials, and its changes in the kimchi sample during fermentation were also determined. Among the raw materials, highest populations of coliform bacteria were detected in ginger and green onion, followed by Chinese cabbage, red pepper, and garlic. Populations of pathogenic bacteria (inoculated strains) and coliform bacteria in kimchi decreased as pH decreased with fermentation. Coliform bacteria disappeared at pH 3.9 in Chinese cabbage kimchi samples. Clostridium perfringens ATCC 13124, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, Salmonella typhimurium KCTC 1625, Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1621, Vibrio parahamolyticus ATCC 27519, and Escherichia coli O157 H:7 ATCC 43894 were not detected at pH values less than 4.1, 3.7, 3.8, 3.8, 3.7, and 3.7 in Chinese cabbage kimchi, and at pH values less than 4.5, 4.0, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2 and 4.1 in mustard leaf kimchi, respectively. The juice of mustard leaf and allyl isothiocyanate exhibited high antimicrobial activities on the pathogenic bacteria, whereas the lowest on lactic acid bacteria. These results indicated that fermentation is useful to improve the safety of kimchi, and the antimicrobial effect of mustard leaf kimchi is mainly due to the major pungent compound of mustard leaf, allyl isothiocyanate.