Conflict Between Legal Platform Companies and Bar Associations Reignites Ahead of Next Year's Bar Association President and Seoul Bar Association President Elections
The conflict between Min Myung-gi, CEO of the legal platform Ro&Good (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 46), and lawyer organizations is expected to escalate into a lawsuit battle.
Since the Ministry of Justice canceled the disciplinary actions against lawyers registered with LawTalk last September, the conflict between legal platform companies and lawyer organizations, which had entered a calm phase, appears to be reigniting ahead of the January elections for the president of the Korean Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association. The terms of Kim Young-hoon, president of the Korean Bar Association, and Kim Jung-wook, president of the Seoul Bar Association, both end in January next year.
From the left, Min Myung-gi, CEO of Law & Good, and lawyer Park Byung-chul (Secretary General of the Seoul Bar Association). Photo by Min Myung-gi, Photo by Seoul Bar Association website.
On the evening of the 22nd, CEO Min posted on his Facebook under the title "To Lawyer Park Byung-chul," stating, "Since the lawyer who is the secretary-general of the Seoul Bar Association wrote a post on SNS using my real name, I am responding." He added, "I will file a defamation lawsuit regarding your claim of impersonating a lawyer’s qualification."
Min wrote, "I will leave a legal review of Article 112, Clause 3 of the Attorney-at-Law Act in the comments, so if you are confident, please file a criminal complaint instead of just reporting. I will hold the Bar Association official fully accountable for defaming me by using the harsh term 'impersonating a lawyer’s qualification' without proper legal review, especially through SNS, which has a wide reach."
Article 112 (Penalties) of the Attorney-at-Law Act states, "Any person who falls under any of the following subparagraphs shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine not exceeding 20 million won. In this case, the fine and imprisonment may be imposed concurrently."
Clause 3 punishes "any person who is not a lawyer but indicates or records themselves as a lawyer or law office, or indicates or records an intention to handle legal consultations or other legal affairs for profit."
Park Byung-chul, Secretary-General of Seoul Bar Association: "Min Found Guilty of Fraudulent Subsidy Receipt, Registration Canceled"
On the previous day, Lawyer Park (passed the bar exam 6th class) posted on his Facebook titled "Report on Min Myung-gi’s Lawyer Impersonation," stating, "Recently, many people have received the booklet below under the name 'Lawyer Min Myung-gi.' To get straight to the point, this person is not a lawyer."
Recently, CEO Min published the "2024 Legal Market Report," analyzing the domestic legal market based on various statistics and overseas cases, and has been sending it free of charge to practicing lawyers. In the publication, he listed himself as a lawyer and wrote "Lawyer Min Myung-gi" as the sender on the mailing envelope.
Lawyer Park’s mention of "lawyer impersonation" is interpreted as meaning that since CEO Min has been confirmed guilty and currently has his lawyer registration canceled, he is not a lawyer but has impersonated a lawyer’s qualification.
Between 2020 and 2021, Min was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year probation for fraudulently receiving about 120 million won in youth employment subsidies from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by reporting that young workers hired at Ro&Good worked five days a week and were paid 2 million won, while in reality, they worked only one day a week and were paid 400,000 won. It is known that he returned all the fraudulently received subsidies and paid a penalty five times the amount, about 700 million won.
Article 5 (Disqualification of Lawyers) Clause 2 of the Attorney-at-Law Act states that "a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment with a suspended sentence of two years or more and less than two years have passed since the suspension period" is disqualified from becoming a lawyer. Article 18 (Cancellation of Registration) Clause 1 Subclause 2 requires the Bar Association to cancel the registration of a lawyer who falls under the disqualification in Article 5.
Lawyer Park said, "This person ran a legal platform business but secretly embezzled youth subsidy payments, was sentenced to eight months in prison with two years probation for attempted fraud and violation of the Subsidy Management Act, and had his lawyer registration canceled." He added, "Yet he boldly introduces himself as a 'lawyer' and argues that lawyer organizations should be changed to a more capitalistic nature."
Park further stated, "Above all, Min Myung-gi is not a lawyer. His guilt was confirmed, and he lost his lawyer qualification by order of the Ministry of Justice. It is absurd that such a person confidently claims to overturn the Bar Association and Bar Societies while talking about innovation. He even recommends joining the 'Legal Forum' he created in the booklet."
He continued, "Looking closely at the crimes committed by Min Myung-gi is even more outrageous. He hired part-time workers claiming he would pay 2 million won and have them work five days a week but actually paid only 400,000 won. He pocketed the rest. He did this using government subsidies. The crime was committed quite innovatively. Still, he tries to label the opposition as vested interests and himself as a weak or 'startup' innovator, expecting public opinion to side with him."
Park said, "It is speechless that a person with this level of morality and ethics creates a 'Legal Forum' and boldly claims to change the legal world to suit his taste. It is also pathetic that newspapers publish columns and interviews featuring such a person as an innovator." He added, "I have already reported the violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act for impersonating a lawyer yesterday. I am also curious who would endorse and support such a person."
At the end of the post, Park attached a link to a past broadcast news report covering Min’s subsidy embezzlement.
Min Myung-gi, CEO of Ro&Good: "Not Impersonating a Lawyer. Clear Defamation" ... "Let's Publicly Share Mutual Lawsuits and Complaints"
In a comment on the post titled "Review on the Establishment of Defamation," CEO Min wrote, "The Seoul Central District Court ruling 2020No2280 states that the purpose of Article 112 Clause 3 of the Attorney-at-Law Act is 'to punish legal brokers to protect consumers and prevent confusion in the legal market.' Furthermore, it says that mechanically judging whether someone indicated or recorded themselves as a lawyer or law office is insufficient, and that the relationship to legal affairs, public perception, and possibility of misunderstanding are important criteria."
He added, "In summary, 'impersonating a lawyer’s qualification' means a non-lawyer forming the appearance of a lawyer to the public and engaging in legal affairs, i.e., acting as a legal broker. You can understand this more clearly by reading the full precedent."
Min also stated, "Moreover, our courts hold that defamation is established when mentioning known or widely known facts, especially criminal punishment of others (Supreme Court ruling 92Do455, Daejeon District Court ruling 2021No542, etc.)."
Although his lawyer registration is currently canceled, Min is a person who passed the bar exam, completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and obtained lawyer qualifications, so it is interpreted that he is not impersonating a lawyer. A lawyer whose registration is canceled due to disqualification can re-register after the disqualification is resolved and after review by the Bar Association.
Min said, "The report is not a book for the general public but clearly states from the first page that it is delivered to lawyers. It is even a non-sale item distributed individually. Also, it is clear that I do not use it to take on cases." He added, "I already left a detailed explanation of the case on the Legal Forum cafe two months ago. The report also mentions that there was an unfortunate incident during the startup phase, and the details can be checked on the cafe."
Finally, Min pointed out, "Therefore, indicating myself as a lawyer in the legal market report does not constitute impersonating a lawyer’s qualification. However, a Bar Association official who should know this well publicly mentioned my criminal punishment and accused me of impersonating a lawyer’s qualification, which constitutes defamation."
He continued, "Whether out of ignorance, courage, or impulse, I ask the lawyer to file a complaint as well. Since the police are slow in handling the case, I think it would be a good idea to post both my complaint and the lawyer’s complaint on SNS to get the judgment of many lawyers."
Min: "Lawyer Park Has Been a Bar Association Executive for 6 of His 7 Years of Practice, Acting as an 'Aristocratic Lawyer'... Desperate for Next Year’s Bar Association Election"
Min criticized Lawyer Park for spending most of his career as an executive in lawyer organizations and urged him to consider ways to overcome the difficult reality of the legal profession.
He said, "Lawyer, if you have been a Bar Association executive for six out of your seven years of practice, shouldn’t you first reflect on the Bar Association’s achievements? Are you not responsible for losing 1 billion won in Seoul Bar Association membership fees while fighting LawTalk?"
Min added, "You passed the bar exam 6th class, served two years as a director of the Seoul Bar Association, and four years as secretary-general twice. You also served as president of the Korean Bar Association Tax Lawyers Society, director of the Korean Patent Lawyers Association, and director of the Korean Bar Association Auction and Registration Lawyers Society. I assume you are highly respected and have great expertise given your career. Yet, the first thing you did upon seeing the report was to attack me on Facebook for 'impersonating a lawyer’s qualification.'"
He continued, "Looking at your law office website, your impressive Bar Association career spans more than ten lines. Many lawyers find this 'aristocratic lawyer' attitude most disheartening." He added, "I understand that the upcoming Bar Association election is desperate for you since most of your legal career has been related to the association. But after nearly six years as an executive, serious reflection is needed."
Min said, "In the past five years, Bar Association elections have been filled with harsh insults and criticisms on Facebook, as you wrote. I will respond and file criminal complaints to sound the alarm. An atmosphere where lawyers attack each other by name has emerged embarrassingly. The legal understanding is low, and the posts are extreme. Everyone is becoming silent."
He added, "This atmosphere is why excellent candidates do not run for Bar Association president. Who would want to enter such a muddy election? The Bar Association is increasingly becoming the exclusive domain of a few who focus only on association affairs. Meanwhile, the legal profession continues to grow poorer." He said, "In this atmosphere, I take the lead to gather new voices through the Legal Forum. Many lawyers think the Bar Association needs awakening and new changes."
At the end of the post, Min said, "One last thing. Lawyer, this is not the important issue. Whether I wrote 'lawyer' on the first page of the report is not important at all." He urged, "After nearly six years as a Bar Association executive, you should think more deeply about what the Bar Association should do in the future, what it has failed to do, and why the legal profession continues to struggle."
He concluded, "Most lawyers are currently struggling. You should think about how to overcome this. That is how you will be remembered as a good executive. I hope you will become such a person."
Min attached profile photos of Lawyer Park’s education and career captured from the Law Firm Royal website, where Park is the lead lawyer, and from the Seoul Bar Association website.
Min and lawyer organizations have been in conflict for several years. In particular, Min has opposed lawyer organizations linking his criminal conviction to the illegality of the legal services provided by Ro&Good.
In June, Min filed a complaint with the police against Kim Young-hoon, president of the Korean Bar Association, for obstruction of business, claiming that the Bar Association prevented Ro&Good’s in-house lawyer job postings from being posted on the Bar Association’s website ten times.
At that time, a Bar Association official stated, "This was not a matter requiring the president’s approval, nor was the president involved. The registration applications were made ten times for the purpose of filing a complaint. Since the person was confirmed guilty of subsidy embezzlement, the registration did not meet the criteria and was not approved."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
