Former Constitutional Court Justice Kang Il-won Also Joins BBQ-bhc 'Chicken War'

Eastern District Court Information and Communications Network Act Case Appeal Trial
BBQ Legal Team Participation... Attendance at Every Hearing

Attorney Kang Il-won, a former Constitutional Court justice and recently mentioned as a candidate for the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has joined the lawsuit battle between Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ, and Park Hyun-jong, chairman of bhc, who have been engaged in a "chicken war" for over seven years.

On March 23, in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul, where a ruling was made that although there were unconstitutional elements in the voting process of the 'Geomsu Wanbak' (Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights) law passed by the National Assembly plenary session last year, it is not ultimately invalid, Attorney Kang Il-won, representing the Ministry of Justice, is expressing his position. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the distribution industry on the 8th, Attorney Kang is reportedly considering speaking as a lawyer for BBQ in the ongoing appellate trial of this case, being heard by the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judge Jang Chan, Judges Kim Chang-hyun and So Byung-seok).

Previously, Attorney Kang had been representing BBQ since May 4 of last year, following the original trial’s final hearing on April 18. He has also directly attended the appellate trial court sessions as counsel. This has been regarded as unusual within the industry. Typically, lawyers who are former senior judges at the high court level or above do not appear in court directly even if they take on a case, focusing instead on devising trial strategies outside the courtroom.

Appointed as a Constitutional Court justice in 2012 and completing his term in 2018, Attorney Kang served as the presiding judge for the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye during his tenure. He has held positions such as Director of Judicial Policy and Director of Planning and Coordination at the Court Administration Office, as well as Senior Judge at the Seoul High Court. He also acted as legal representative for the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution in constitutional lawsuits related to the "complete removal of prosecution’s investigative authority" (Geomsu Wanbak) bill. Recently, he has been mentioned as a candidate for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Inside and outside the industry, it is anticipated that the appellate court ruling will be delivered this year, and given the high likelihood that the case will proceed to the Supreme Court regardless of the outcome, there is speculation that the presiding judges may feel burdened by the fact that a candidate for the next Chief Justice is actively involved in the trial as the lawyer for BBQ, the complainant in this case.

Earlier, on the 21st of last month, BBQ also appointed former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il, who is under suspicion of lobbying related to the Daejang-dong scandal, as their representative lawyer in the Supreme Court trial handling the 7.1 billion won damages lawsuit against Park Hyun-jong, chairman of bhc. Former Justice Kwon retired in September 2020 and is a former high-ranking judicial official. He is implicated in the Daejang-dong case, including allegations related to the "50 billion club" and the "Lee Jae-myung trial manipulation suspicion."