Rotok in Crisis, Finding a Way Out... Venture Industry "Welcomes Bar Association Sanctions"

Fair Trade Commission imposes 2 billion won fine on Bar Association and others
Industry: "Legal tech activation and unicorn emergence needed"
"Stop lawsuits and coexist with innovative platforms"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The venture industry has collectively welcomed the Fair Trade Commission's imposition of a 2 billion KRW fine on the Korean Bar Association (KBA) and the Seoul Bar Association (Seoul Bar) for their actions. This is because the government has taken strong measures against the lawyer organizations that obstructed the normal operation of the legal service platform 'Lotoc'.

The Innovative Venture Association Council, composed of venture organizations such as the Korea Venture Business Association and the Korea Startup Forum (KOSPO), stated in a commentary on the 23rd, "The Fair Trade Commission concluded that the actions of the KBA and Seoul Bar to block the use of lawyer platforms are illegal acts that hinder market competition and service innovation."

The council added, "Lotoc is a service that helps clients easily meet lawyers and receive legal assistance," and "It was also selected as a 'pre-unicorn' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the only domestic legal tech company to receive this designation."

They continued, "The KBA and Seoul Bar prohibited lawyers from joining and operating on platforms like Lotoc through their own regulations and imposed mass disciplinary actions on lawyers," and "The Fair Trade Commission issued a corrective order to immediately stop this and imposed the maximum statutory fine of 2 billion KRW."

Furthermore, "Through this measure, legal service platforms will be activated domestically, and legal tech unicorns can emerge," and "We urge the Ministry of Justice to promptly accept lawyers' disciplinary appeal requests and rectify the situation."

Until now, Law&Company has been repeatedly sued and accused by lawyer organizations. Although all cases were dismissed, the decrease in registered lawyers has impacted profitability, putting the business at risk. Recently, they began accepting voluntary retirements aiming to reduce staff by 50%. They also decided to sell the new headquarters, which was expanded and relocated last June, and switch employees to remote work.

The venture industry insists that the KBA and Seoul Bar accept the Fair Trade Commission's sanctions, stop forcibly removing lawyers from platforms, and withdraw lawyer disciplinary actions. In this regard, the Ministry of Justice is also preparing to make a decision on the disciplinary appeals filed by lawyers.

KOSPO stated in a press release on the same day, "We believe the Ministry of Justice will also make a decision for the future of legal consumers and services," and "Only when the risks related to lawyer disciplinary actions are completely resolved can the foundation for the development of the legal tech industry be established."

KOSPO added, "We hope that many innovative legal tech companies for legal consumers will emerge and that we can grow into globally competitive 'legal tech unicorns'."

On the same day, the National Assembly startup research group 'Unicorn Farm' also requested, "We hope lawyer organizations will stop legal lawsuits now and find ways to coexist with innovative platform startups in this changing era."

They added, "There must be no more 'second Tada' incidents in our society," and "While listening to concerns from existing businesses, we must seek directions that can be reborn as voices of coexistence based on innovation."