Appellate Court Upholds Suspension of Lawyer Who 'Danced' Under His Own Advertisement at Club

The appellate court has upheld a decision that a one-month suspension imposed on a lawyer in his 40s, who displayed false advertisements on an electronic billboard at an entertainment venue and danced in front of it, was justified.

On June 18, the 7th Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court ruled against the plaintiff, Lawyer A, in his lawsuit seeking to cancel the dismissal of his objection against the Ministry of Justice's Lawyer Disciplinary Committee, maintaining the same ruling as the lower court.

Lawyer A was suspended for one month in September 2023 for damaging the dignity of the legal profession by displaying advertisements at clubs and other entertainment venues with phrases such as "Representative Lawyer of a Law Firm," "Lawyer A, the King of Seocho," and "Lawyer A, born wealthy."

According to the disciplinary committee's investigation, Lawyer A displayed the phrase "Representative Lawyer of a Law Firm" on the club's electronic billboard even though he operated a private law office, and he also had a manager at the entertainment venue create business cards for his law office to promote his services.

Lawyer A filed an objection against the disciplinary action, claiming he did not personally request the advertisement. However, the committee rejected the objection, stating, "Lawyer A did not stop the advertisement without delay, but rather encouraged and promoted it by dancing in front of the billboard and actively enjoying the situation."

Lawyer A filed an administrative lawsuit to challenge the Ministry of Justice's decision, but the court ruled in November of last year that the suspension was justified.

The court determined that even if the charge was reduced from "directly requesting the advertisement" to "encouraging and promoting it," it still constituted grounds for disciplinary action for damaging the dignity of a lawyer.

The court concluded that there was no error in the decision that he violated his duty to maintain dignity, based on the fact that Lawyer A actively communicated with acquaintances through the messages displayed on the billboard and held significant influence over the club's staff.

The appellate court found no fault in the lower court's judgment and dismissed the appeal filed by Lawyer A.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.