[Invest&Law] Korean Bar Association Selects Six Outstanding Lawyers for 31st Award

Kim Haerim, Lim Taeho, Jeong Hyejin, Jo Sunhee, Jo Jeonghee, and Hwang Guibin Receive Outstanding Lawyer Award

The Korean Bar Association (President Kim Jungwook) has selected six attorneys for the 31st Outstanding Lawyer Award: Kim Haerim (Seoul Bar Association, 6th Bar Exam), Lim Taeho (Gwangju Bar Association, 38th National Judicial Exam), Jeong Hyejin (Gyeonggi Central Bar Association, 1st Bar Exam), Jo Sunhee (Seoul Bar Association, 1st Bar Exam), Jo Jeonghee (Seoul Bar Association, 4th Bar Exam), and Hwang Guibin (Seoul Bar Association, 6th Bar Exam).

According to the legal community on January 21, the Korean Bar Association selected six outstanding lawyers after a rigorous review process, based on recommendations for attorneys who demonstrated excellence in the fields of justice and human rights, improvement of the legal system, exemplary advocacy, development of legal culture, and public interest activities.

Attorney Kim Haerim established the professional role of lawyers and contributed to expanding the legal profession in the area of 'protection of teachers' rights,' which has recently emerged as a serious social issue. She led research on institutional improvements, including conducting preventive education to raise awareness of the seriousness of new types of violations of teachers' rights such as deepfake crimes, and advocating for amendments to relevant laws and regulations.

Attorney Lim Taeho served as the head of the Gwangju Bar Association's legal support team, which was formed to provide legal assistance for the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that occurred at Muan International Airport on the morning of December 29, 2024. From the day of the accident, he remained on site, maintaining close communication with the bereaved families, providing legal advice, and actively responding to defamation and the spread of false information, thereby helping to prevent secondary harm.

Attorney Jeong Hyejin, while serving as a court-appointed defense attorney, succeeded in having the Constitutional Court accept a request for a ruling on the constitutionality of the habitual theft aggravated punishment provision, known as the 'Jean Valjean Law.' She also contributed to the ruling that restricts employment of adult sex offenders in educational institutions for children and adolescents. In addition, through her prolific writing, including books such as "When a Name Becomes Law," "Let Me Begin My Defense," and "Law for the Earth," she has helped broaden the legal culture and positively influence public perception of criminal defense attorneys.

Attorney Jo Sunhee has pioneered and established expertise in the legal profession within the field of ESG (environmental, social, and governance). From the early stages of ESG management adoption, she has worked to develop and expand the role of lawyers in ESG, contributed to the dissemination of ESG legal knowledge through co-authoring works such as "ESG Survival Management," and helped expand the scope of the legal profession.

Attorney Jo Jeonghee achieved significant rulings in real estate development litigation, including the Supreme Court’s reversal and remand of a case regarding the cancellation of a decision to deny the supply of relocation housing, and a favorable judgment on the cancellation of expropriation decisions for large-scale industrial complexes.

Attorney Hwang Guibin, in 2023, secured a Supreme Court reversal and remand ruling that even tenants who entered into lease agreements with landlords before the completion of ownership transfer registration after purchasing a house are protected under the Housing Lease Protection Act. This ruling is considered significant, as it provided a legal basis for protecting tenants within the existing legal framework and Supreme Court precedents during a period when large-scale lease fraud was a major social issue, thereby greatly impacting subsequent lease disputes and legal practice.