Lawyer Who Threatened Client for Contingency Fee Fined 20 Million Won

A lawyer who threatened a client to collect a contingency fee has been handed a final sentence of a fine.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Justice Ma Yong-ju presiding) has upheld the lower court's ruling, which sentenced a lawyer, identified by his surname Lee, to a fine of 20 million won for attempted extortion.

In 2016, Lee entered into a legal services agreement with a client, identified as A, who was the actual operator of a specialized construction company, regarding a case involving a complaint filed with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) against Company B for violations of the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act.

The agreement stipulated an initial retainer of 30 million won, with a contingency fee to be calculated based on a percentage of the amount recovered from Company B, depending on the outcome of the KFTC complaint.

However, client A became dissatisfied with Lee's performance. In 2018, without explicitly terminating the contract with Lee, A hired another lawyer to handle the case.

Subsequently, an appraisal process was conducted regarding the case. In 2019, following the results of an appraisal by an expert appointed by the KFTC, Company B deposited 1.7 billion won, which was then received by A's side.

Lee then faced trial on charges of threatening A 15 times between March and July of that year, demanding a contingency fee of 100 million won.

Investigations revealed that Lee sent text messages stating, "If you do not report the progress, I warn you that I will immediately initiate criminal charges against your company, followed by seizures and civil lawsuits," and "Deliver this message to Chairman C. I will make sure you are humiliated and sent to prison."

The first trial court stated, "The defendant attempted to obtain financial gain by causing fear in the victim beyond the scope permitted by social norms under the guise of exercising his rights, thus constituting attempted extortion." The court sentenced Lee to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered 120 hours of community service.

The second trial court noted, "The defendant, a lawyer, attempted to extort his client, which is a serious offense. It appears the victim suffered significant distress as the defendant actually filed complaints against them."

However, the court reduced the sentence to a 20 million won fine, taking into account that the crime remained at the attempted stage, that a civil judgment had confirmed Lee held a claim for 26.95 million won in contingency fees, and that he had reached a settlement with the victim.

Lee appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, finding no errors in the lower court's judgment.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.