"○○ Satisfied with Sexual Crime Case"... Is This a Lawyer Advertisement?

Posting Online Cafe Ads with Sensational Phrases
Deceiving Consumers by Pretending to Specialize in Certain Crimes
Overheated Competition in Lawyer Industry Causes Issues... Bar Association Disciplinary Action

Controversy has arisen over lawyer advertisements featuring provocative phrases alongside neighborhood names, such as "Satisfied with ○○ sex crime" and "Satisfied client for ○○○ disabled sex crime." On the 27th, Seoul Shinmun and Chosun Ilbo reported that "The Korean Bar Association is taking disciplinary action against law firms that have posted numerous vulgar advertisement posts in online cafes or advertised themselves as specialized law firms for certain crimes with the purpose of handling sex crime cases."

The Bar Association plans to finalize the disciplinary measures next month for Law Firm A, which was referred to the disciplinary investigation committee in January. Law Firm A reportedly used provocative titles in lawyer advertisements targeting sex crime suspects in online cafes. It is presumed that such phrases were used to increase online exposure frequency. According to Seoul Shinmun, one post described the process of a sex crime victim and ended with a review stating, "Thanks to the lawyer, I won the case."

Regarding these advertisements, the Bar Association reportedly judged that there is a possibility of violating the lawyer's duty to maintain dignity. The Attorney-at-Law Act prohibits advertisements that may damage the dignity or credibility of lawyers.

Law Firm B is known to have been subject to disciplinary action for advertising under the name ‘XX Crime Law Firm’ at subway stations and other locations. Lawyers can only be introduced as ‘specialized lawyers’ for specific cases if they have registered their specialty. Although Law Firm B did not directly use the word ‘specialized,’ it has been pointed out that this could create such an impression among consumers. The Bar Association told Chosun Ilbo, “It appears that the law firm circumvented the prohibition regulations to mislead consumers through their advertisements.”

As the number of lawyers exceeds 35,000 and competition in the industry intensifies, there is an analysis that such exaggerated advertisements are emerging. However, there are claims that disciplinary measures against these firms are not severe, allowing advertising for case acquisition competition to continue unabated.