The revised regulations to allow the Korean Bar Association (Bar Association) to discipline lawyers who have joined the legal platform come into effect today (4th).
According to the legal community, the Bar Association's 'Regulations on Advertisement of Attorneys', which prohibits the payment of economic benefits in connection with the connection and mediation of legal advice, will be applied from today.
This regulation, which the Bar Association was revised in May, effectively blocks the use of the legal platform by making it impossible to provide profits regardless of the name, such as mediation fees, brokerage fees, commissions, membership fees, subscription fees, and advertising expenses.
It is anticipated that disciplinary proceedings will begin as soon as this regulation takes effect.
This is because the Seoul Bar Association has already received complaints about disciplinary action against 500 lawyers for violating the Attorney Act using the legal platform.
However, it is likely that it will take several months for the disciplinary decision to be made.
Disciplinary action for lawyers requires procedures such as an application for the commencement of disciplinary action by the local bar association, a request for disciplinary action from the president of the bar association, and a decision on disciplinary action by the bar association disciplinary committee.
It is the legal platform 'Rotok', which is known to have more than 3,000 lawyer members as of the end of last month, that has been hit by disciplinary action against lawyers using the legal platform.
If the Bar Association takes disciplinary action in accordance with the principle, there is a possibility that lawyers will withdraw from LoTalk one after another.
In response, RoTalk has already applied for an injunction to the Constitutional Court to suspend the effect of the Bar Association regulations, and plans to support administrative litigation against the Bar Association if the affiliated lawyers are subject to disciplinary action.
The Bar Association argues that legal platforms, including RoTalk, are illegal, saying they fall under the 'office office sales' prohibited by the Attorney Act.
Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye expressed his intention to evolve the conflict yesterday, saying, "I instructed the head of the legal department to check whether Rotok can check and improve it, and whether it is willing to respond (to the issue of the Bar Association)."
(Photo = provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)