A Fourfold Increase from 51 Cases in 2014
Violations of Advertising Regulations Continue to Rise
The number of lawyer disciplinary cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 2024. This is the highest ever since the Korea Bar Association took over disciplinary authority from the Ministry of Justice in 1996. Over the past 10 years, the number has increased fourfold.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the office of Kim Yong-min (49, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 35), a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the total number of lawyer disciplinary cases in 2024 was 206. This represents a 303% increase compared to 51 cases in 2014. During the same period, the number of lawyers increased by 90%, from 18,708 in 2014 to 35,647 in 2024.
Looking at the trend of lawyer disciplinary cases over the past 12 years, the number rose sharply from 35 cases in 2012 to 188 cases in 2016. It then declined to 85 cases in 2020 and 46 cases in 2021. However, the number increased again to 169 cases in 2022 and 154 cases in 2023, reaching an all-time high of 206 cases in 2024.
By reason for discipline, violations related to lawyer advertising increased significantly. According to the 6th edition of the disciplinary casebook published by the Korea Bar Association, only 4 disciplinary cases related to lawyer advertising violations were confirmed over the two years from 2013 to 2014. These cases involved sending mail to an unspecified number of recipients without the approval of the affiliated bar association or labeling oneself as a "specialist" without registering a specialty, resulting in fines ranging from 2 million to 5 million KRW.
In the most recent period from 2023 to 2024, there were 101 cases of violations of lawyer advertising regulations. The types of discipline included 9 suspensions, 79 fines, and 13 reprimands. During the same period, there were 102 cases of violations of the duty to maintain dignity, 53 cases of violations of the duty of sincerity, 33 cases of violations of submission of activity records of retired public officials at law firms, 24 cases of violations of submission of client acceptance data by retired public official lawyers, 12 cases of violations of client acceptance restrictions, and 22 other cases.
Hyun An, Jihyun Kim, Legal News Reporters
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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