Upward Trend Over the Past Six Years
Disciplinary actions against lawyers have recently seen a significant quantitative increase, along with a rise in the severity of the penalties. There has been a sharp increase in cases of 'fines,' while more serious disciplinary actions such as 'suspension' and 'expulsion' have also surged since 2022 and 2024, respectively. As competition within the legal profession intensifies, violations of legal ethics resulting in disciplinary action appear to be occurring more frequently.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Park Heeseung (age 62, 18th Judicial Research and Training Institute class), the number of disciplinary actions against lawyers from 2020 to 2024 showed an upward trend: 85 cases in 2020, 46 in 2021, 169 in 2022, 154 in 2023, and 206 in 2024. As of June 10, 2025, there have been 86 cases recorded for the year.
By type of disciplinary action, cases involving 'fines,' which are considered relatively minor, increased sharply. Fines decreased from 55 cases in 2020 to 35 in 2021, but then surged to 141 in 2022, followed by 101 in 2023 and 153 in 2024. As of June 10, 2025, there have been 69 cases. While there have been some fluctuations, the number of fines in 2024 was about three times higher than in 2020.
'Reprimands' have fluctuated over the years. There were 20 cases in 2020, which dropped sharply to 5 in 2021, then increased to 17 in 2022 and 36 in 2023, before slightly decreasing to 27 in 2024.
More serious disciplinary actions, such as 'suspension' and 'expulsion,' have also clearly increased in recent years. Suspensions, which numbered only 9 in 2020 and 4 in 2021, rose to 10 in 2022, 17 in 2023, and 19 in 2024, showing an annual increase over the past three years. As of June 10, 2025, there have been 13 suspensions. At this rate, the number of suspensions in 2025 could exceed the 2024 figure.
Expulsions are also on the rise. While there was only 1 expulsion in 2020, 2 in 2021, and 1 in 2022, the number suddenly increased to 7 in 2024. As of June 10, 2025, there have already been 4 expulsions. This means that, even before the first half of the year has ended, more than half as many expulsions as the previous year have already been imposed.
According to Article 90 of the Attorney-at-Law Act, lawyer disciplinary actions are categorized as follows: reprimand, fine (up to 30 million KRW), suspension (up to 3 years), expulsion, and permanent expulsion. Among these, if a lawyer is expelled, Article 5 of the Attorney-at-Law Act stipulates that they cannot register again until five years have passed since the disciplinary action.
Permanent expulsion is only possible under strict conditions, such as receiving a criminal sentence of imprisonment or greater on two or more occasions, or being disciplined with suspension or higher twice and then committing another offense. There has only been one case of permanent expulsion to date. In July 2019, a lawyer lent their name to a non-lawyer, allowed them to handle personal rehabilitation and bankruptcy cases, and received payment in return. The lawyer who was permanently expelled also committed numerous acts violating the duty of dignity and the duty of sincerity, such as failing to return fees to clients as agreed.
Kim Jihyun, Legal Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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