"Lotok" lawyer disciplined...Court "Cancellation of Fair Trade Commission Penalty"

Fair Trade Commission Imposes KRW 1 Billion Penalty to Bar Association..."Competition Restriction"
Litigation Against the Fair Trade Commission, etc.Court "Should Cancel Penalty"
Bar Association, Seoul Bar Association "Welcome to Court Judgment...Legal Tech Control"
"Strict Response and Regulation" vs. "Concerns of slowing technological development"

[Anchor]
Last year, the Fair Trade Commission imposed a fine of 1 billion won on the Korean Bar Association and others for disciplining lawyers who joined the legal platform "Lotalk."

In the ensuing lawsuit, the court ruled in favor of the lawyers' groups.

Reporter Kwon Junsu reports.

[Reporter]
In 2021, the Korean Bar Association and others imposed fines of 3 million won on lawyers who joined the legal platform "Lotalk."

'Lotalk' is a platform service advertised by individual lawyers in charge, etc.
Arranging a deal for
is a violation of the lawyer's advertising regulations.

['Lotok' Lawyers: The fact that the majority of Rotok subscribers were young lawyers who were generally and commonly referred to as youth lawyers.]

Since then, the FTC has imposed a correction order and a fine of 1 billion won on the Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association, claiming that it has limited competition between lawyers and consumer options.

Two organizations also filed a lawsuit against the FTC, which ruled in favor of lawyers.

As the Korean Bar Association has considerable discretion in determining the scope of attorney advertisements prohibited by law
The
Bar Association has no procedural defects in making regulations or disciplining them, and it is an act with reasonable grounds under the Lawyers Act.

In addition, for the development of the legal technology field, various forms of conflict with the existing legal system must be resolved,
The legal tech sector, which has been verified by
associations, also needs to consider the aspect of more sustainable growth, it added.

The associations welcomed the court's judgment and said they would seek to control legal tech companies by forming a consultative body involving the Justice Department and other lawyers' groups in the long run.

He also said he would respond more sternly and impose regulations in the future,
Some
worry that the gap in the already rapidly growing legal tech sector could widen while we falter due to regulations.

I'm YTN Kwon Junsu.


Video editing: Kim Min-kyung
Graphic: Lee Wonhee