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Managing partners of a law firm who filed a lawsuit challenging disciplinary fines over advertisements featuring terms like "former high-ranking official" and "preferential treatment for former officials" have lost their case.
The 4-3 Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Moon Kwang-sub, Park Young-wook, and Lee Kwang-man) recently ruled against the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the managing partner of Law Firm A and others against the Ministry of Justice's Attorney Disciplinary Committee to cancel the disciplinary decisions, upholding the lower court's ruling.
In 2024, Law Firm A was issued a corrective recommendation by the Korean Bar Association for running advertisements using terms such as "former official lawyer team" and "former official privilege lawyer," while also claiming that free legal consultations were available.
According to regulations on attorney advertising, lawyers are prohibited from running advertisements that create the misconception that they can exert undue influence over cases by highlighting their past service in institutions such as courts or prosecutors' offices.
The Ministry of Justice's Attorney Disciplinary Committee took disciplinary action against the managing partners, and following mediation, imposed fines of 8 million won each on two managing partners.
The remaining managing partners also received disciplinary actions ranging from reprimands to fines of 1 million won.
In response, the managing partners filed a lawsuit challenging the penalties, arguing, "There is a separate lawyer responsible for advertising, and disciplinary action was taken against all managing partners without verifying whether they were actually involved in the advertising."
However, the first trial court dismissed their claims, stating, "It is reasonable to view that managing partners hold the position of bearing statutory responsibility for a law firm's advertisements."
The appellate court also ruled that designating a separate lawyer responsible for advertising does not exempt managing partners from their advertising-related responsibilities.
The court explained, "A law firm's advertising is closely related to its business operations, and its effects and benefits accrue to its members," adding, "The plaintiffs have the right and duty to execute advertisements, as well as the authority and responsibility to monitor and supervise them."
The court further stated, "If only the lawyer responsible for advertising were to bear responsibility for a law firm's illegal advertisements, it would run counter to the intent of the relevant laws," and noted, "This would lead to a result where managing partners exert influence over advertisements and reap the benefits while evading legal responsibility."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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