The purpose of this study is to investigate the immuno-stimulatory function of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Lactobacillus plantarum HY7712, isolated from kimchi. When NF-κB-activating activities of 200 LAB isolated from kimchi were measured in RAW264.7 cells stimulated with or without LPS, L. plantarum HY7712 most potently induced NF-κB activation in RAW264.7 cells, while the presence of LPS induced inhibition of NF-κB activation. HY7712 also induced the expression of IL-12 and TNF-α, transcription factor for NF-κB, in human PBMCs. In order to investigate the effect of toll-like receptor (TLR)-associated HY7712-signaling pathway, psiTLR2- or psiTLR4-transfected RAW264.7 cells were used to measure the NF-κB activation with the same stimulation with HY7712. HY7712 activated NF-κB in wild-type and psiTLR4-knockout cells, but not in psiTLR2-knockout cells, indicating HY7712 can activate Raw264.7 cell via TLR2/NF-κB signaling. In addition, HY7712 induced the expression of IL-12 and IFN-γ in mouse splenocytes, and also the activation markers CD80, 86, and MHC class II in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells