[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A domestic law firm representing victims of investment fraud filed a lawsuit but was once again dismissed for failing to prove its authority to represent the plaintiffs. Dismissal is a decision made without examining the content when the lawsuit or claim is improper or lacks the necessary requirements.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Civil Division 16 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ki-hwan Lim) dismissed seven lawsuits filed by 140 victims of investment fraud against Song Chang-su, CEO of Isum Investment Advisory, seeking damages. The litigation costs were ordered to be borne by Law Firm A, which represented the plaintiffs.
The court stated, "It is insufficient to recognize that the authority to represent the lawsuit was properly granted, and there is no other evidence to acknowledge this." It added, "The submitted power of attorney does not include parts handwritten by the plaintiffs, and all seals appear to have been generated by the same computer program, resembling so-called 'makdojang' (rubber stamp) forms."
Previously, Law Firm A filed a lawsuit in August 2018 on behalf of victims of Isum Investment Advisory, claiming a total of about 1.55 billion KRW. Isum Investment Advisory was an unlicensed deposit-taking company that caused a stir after it was revealed to have committed an investment fraud worth about 130 billion KRW under the pretext of "guaranteeing principal through overseas futures investment." Song was sentenced to 13 years and 4 years imprisonment respectively by the Supreme Court for fraud and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Conducting Fund-Raising Business without Permission, and is currently serving his sentence.
During the trial, Song's side pointed out that Law Firm A was not authorized to represent the lawsuit. In response, Law Firm A submitted contracts of entrustment received from the victims, but it was not confirmed whether these contracts were prepared for civil litigation. The court ruled, "Law Firm A did not submit a new power of attorney with the plaintiffs' certified seals attached by the end of the trial," and "It must be concluded that they failed to prove that they had the authority to represent the plaintiffs in filing this lawsuit."
Previously, Law Firm A had also filed a damages lawsuit on behalf of other victims of Isum Investment Advisory but received a dismissal ruling for the same reason in October last year.
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