Venture Industry "Welcomes Unconstitutionality of Rotok Ban... Must Actively Promote Venture Activation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The venture industry has welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling that the 'Lotok prohibition regulation' is unconstitutional and urged the National Assembly and the government to create an environment that can enhance the competitiveness of legal tech companies.

On the 26th, the Korea Venture Business Association stated in a press release, "The Constitutional Court ruled that the regulation by the Korean Bar Association to discipline lawyers active on the legal service platform Lotok is unconstitutional," and added, "The venture industry deeply welcomes the historic decision of the Constitutional Court that sided with innovative companies against vested interests."

The association said, "The domestic venture industry has always been engaged in a 'David and Goliath' battle," and "The vested interests have hindered the growth of new industries, and venture companies and startups trying to solve problems for general consumers have repeatedly been frustrated by these barriers."

In particular, it noted, "The legal service sector is a representative industry with a severe information gap and slow technology adoption," and "Since 2014, Lotok has pioneered the market by providing services such as lawyer information search and 15-minute phone consultations, enabling anyone to easily receive assistance from legal experts."

It also pointed out, "Last May, the Korean Bar Association completely revised the regulations on lawyer advertising to create grounds for disciplining lawyers simply for joining online platforms including Lotok," and "They continuously pressured hundreds of lawyers to withdraw from Lotok."

The association emphasized, "Legal tech, which introduces IT technology into legal services, is a field where nearly 7,000 companies worldwide are competing," and "It is urgent for Korea to establish a business environment that can enhance the competitiveness of various legal tech companies including Lotok."

Finally, it urged, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration must take this incident as a lesson to actively promote venture activation so that the hardship stories of venture companies do not repeat," and stressed, "The government and the National Assembly must check the authority of the Korean Bar Association, which has shown occupational selfishness, and immediately begin preparing related bills that comply with the spirit of the Constitution."