Former Fair Trade Commission (FTC) officials who were not lawyers but received money and handled legal affairs such as responding to FTC investigations were found guilty in the first trial.
On the 25th, according to the legal community, Judge Park Byung-gon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 5 sentenced Mr. A, a former FTC headquarters manager, to three years in prison with a five-year probation and ordered the confiscation of 235.9 million won for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. Mr. B, a former manager of an FTC regional office, was sentenced to a total of one year and four months in prison with a two-year probation and ordered to pay 101.85 million won in confiscation.
The court stated, “The defendants performed tasks that required systematic interpretation and application of laws based on professional knowledge of the law beyond the scope of administrative work,” and added, “Considering the considerable profits gained from the crime, the nature of the offense is not favorable.”
They were prosecuted on charges of handling a total of 25 legal affairs, either individually or jointly, from May 2016 to November 2021, including the “Distribution Sector Legal Compliance (CP) Inspection Contract for Responding to FTC Franchise Business Law Violation Investigations,” receiving a total remuneration of approximately 336 million won.
Additionally, they are accused of advertising with phrases such as “Consultations on Construction, Distribution, Subcontracting, and Unfair Trade for 20,000 won” during 2021?2022, including their career backgrounds.
Mr. A, who retired from the FTC in 2015, opened an office called “G Yeonguso” in Gangnam, Seoul, and, together with Mr. B and others who later joined, carried out tasks to devise countermeasures on behalf of companies under FTC investigation. The client companies included those facing FTC investigations related to distribution, subcontracting, franchise business, dealerships, and technology theft, including subsidiaries of large conglomerates.
The court sentenced Mr. C, a former regional office manager who wrote opinion letters for FTC investigation cases and received payment, to a fine of 1 million won and ordered the confiscation of 3 million won.
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