Press Coverage

The Korean legal market still operates centered on legal professionals, not customers.. This is not a simple institutional problem, but the result of authoritarian thinking and structural closure underlying legal services in general.. I believe that we must dismantle this old structure and create a consumer-centered open legal market that realizes information equality..Looking back through history, power has always been maintained by controlling information.. In medieval Europe, the Bible was written only in Latin and its contents were unknown to commoners.. Information was power, and the clergy monopolized that power.. 15Gutenberg's popularization of printing press and translation of the Bible into native languages ​​was a decisive opportunity to break down that monopoly.. The liberation of information meant a shift in power, which led to the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution., Furthermore, it led to the spread of democracy..The same goes for the law.. The law is a tool to protect the rights of the people, but if interpretation and access are monopolized by a specific class, the law becomes a means of domination.. The legal market, where access to information is blocked, is nothing more than a barrier to vested interests that reign over the rights of the people..One of the main channels through which people today can access legal services is ‘advertisement’all. Advertising is not just a commercial activity. It is a space of constitutional rights that allows lawyers to freely express their expertise and services and helps the public compare and evaluate them and make rational choices.. in other words, Advertising is a lawyer's freedom of expression and, It is a democratic device that simultaneously implements the people’s right to know..The lawyer market of the past was never an open market.. Advertising was considered taboo, and hiring a lawyer depended on informal routes such as transfers, brokers, and acquaintances.. Consumers do not receive sufficient information, I had to choose a lawyer based only on limited channels and reputation.. The resulting excessive costs and information gap were passed on to the people, and legal services became distant from the people..It has to change now.. Citizens have the right to choose a lawyer. And as a service provider, lawyers must be guaranteed the opportunity to freely publicize the work capabilities and expertise they provide.. In particular, advertising autonomy is urgently needed for small and new lawyers who lack capital and recognition.. They have their own special strengths, Locality and expertise, Advertising is the only way to appeal your philosophy and approach to the market.. If advertising is regulated, all expressions will be standardized.. As a result, consumers lose real choice in choosing the right lawyer for them, and lawyers are unable to communicate their differences to the market.. Ultimately, this is disadvantageous to consumers., It results in entrenching a non-competitive legal market structure..I can agree to some extent with the point that advertising should not be solely centered on capital.. If a specific advertising structure determines exposure and acceptance opportunities depending on financial power, this may cause information bias.. However, these concerns ‘Format and Structure’This is a problem that can be sufficiently improved through technical and policy adjustments.. That cannot be a justifiable reason to control advertising itself or suppress expression itself.. ‘Protect citizens from information’The attitude of restricting advertising under the pretext of isolating the public from information is in reality. This is a dangerous idea that assumes that legal consumers are unable to make their own decisions and underestimates the public's ability to make decisions.. Advertising regulations should always be minimal and start from the premise of freedom of expression and the right to know..These standards that threaten freedom of expression are still in effect in reality.. Recently, Daeryun Law Firm, to which the author belongs, was notified of an application for disciplinary action by the Korean Bar Association due to a statement posted on the company's website.. The part in question was the following vision declaration:.“Daeryun Law Firm's ultimate goal is to become the world's best law firm..”This sentence was merely a declaration that revealed the company's philosophy and goals.. There was no intention to promote a specific service., There was no purpose to induce acceptance.. Nevertheless ‘best’Disciplinary proceedings were initiated simply because the expression was included..Is this really an advertisement?? Is there any objective evidence that consumers are directly and specifically influenced by this sentence to the point of contacting a law firm?? If even sentences expressing the company's vision and direction are subject to censorship,, Lawyers can no longer speak freely. This is not regulation of advertising, but control of expression itself.. This promotes information asymmetry and, A distorted market has been created in which lawyers are selected based on personal connections, causing repeated opaque transactions such as brokerage.. This is the harm caused by a structure that seeks to maintain control..The means to fundamentally change this structure is the liberalization of advertising.. Through advertising, lawyers can transparently convey their philosophy and expertise, and the public can compare and choose for themselves.. This is the healthiest and most legal way to replace courtesy treatment and brokerage, and is the key to protecting consumers and improving transparency in the legal market..Information should be revealed, compared, and evaluated, not hidden.. Through advertising, lawyers can make their presence known to the public and citizens can independently choose the legal service that suits them.. This is the democratization of information and the core of consumer rights..Now is the time to open up the closed legal market.. Freedom of expression and freedom of information, There are ways to correct the capital bias structure while ensuring the right to know.. We need coordination for freedom, not regulation for regulation's sake.. That is true openness and the starting point of a legal market where democracy operates.. [View full article] [Contribution] The closed legal market, now is the time to open it for the people’s right to know (Shortcut)

Non-covered medical expenses for Oriental medicine were subject to actual cost medical insurance, but were excluded from the scope of compensation in October 2009 when the financial authorities and the insurance industry revised the 'Actual Cost Medical Insurance Standard Terms and Conditions' on the grounds that there were many differences in coverage between existing non-life insurance companies' products. Accordingly, we would like to increase the people's choice and accessibility to oriental medicine and further argue that insurance coverage for actual cost medical expenses is necessary in order for the people to receive quality oriental medicine without financial burden. In the National Assembly audits conducted in 2012, 2013, and 2015, it was repeatedly pointed out that actual cost medical insurance should be applied to uncompensated treatment items at oriental medicine clinics and hospitals, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission also issued a press release in July 2014 titled ‘Uncovered medical expenses for oriental medicine with a clear purpose of treatment should also be covered by actual cost medical insurance’, requesting improvement on this issue to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Financial Services Commission. It has been recommended. In Korea's medical care, 'oriental medicine' occupies a significant proportion along with western medicine. As of 2022, there are 15,124 oriental medicine medical institutions, accounting for 20.8% of all medical institutions, and 90 out of 231 public medical institutions nationwide have at least one oriental medicine department. In addition, according to a 2024 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 67.3% of people over the age of 19 have experience using oriental medicine, and 50% of outpatients and 43% of inpatients have experience using Western medicine clinics and hospitals for the same symptoms before receiving oriental medicine treatment. Despite some disparaging claims that it is 'traditional therapy for health promotion', the purpose of more than 90% of people using oriental medicine is 'treatment of disease' rather than health promotion or beauty, and a high level of satisfaction is recorded with the treatment effect. Despite the status and importance of oriental medicine, according to the provisions related to actual cost medical insurance revised in 2009, oriental medicine non-reimbursed treatment is excluded from coverage under actual cost medical insurance. As a result, medical consumers cannot receive actual cost medical insurance coverage even if they receive treatment that is not covered by oriental medicine, so even though they need to receive oriental medicine treatment, they are unable to properly receive oriental medicine treatment due to the burden of medical expenses, or even if they receive treatment, they have to pay the entire medical cost themselves. In addition, considering that Western treatment is covered more broadly than oriental medicine treatment, such as being subject to actual cost medical insurance and medical care benefits under the National Health Insurance Act when performed by a doctor even though the treatment is the same, there is a very big problem with the system that is designed to discriminate only against oriental medicine treatment without any justifiable reason. Due to the above actual cost medical insurance standard terms and conditions, medical consumers are essentially blocked from the opportunity to sign up for actual cost medical insurance for non-reimbursed oriental medicine treatments, thereby limiting their right to self-determination to choose medical institutions and medical methods, freedom of contract, right to choose medical care, and the right to health or health. When the state carries out legislative activities to restrict the fundamental rights of citizens, it must comply with the principle of prohibition of excess set forth in Article 37, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, must not infringe on the essential content of fundamental rights, and even if fundamental rights are restricted, it must be limited to the extent of necessity. In particular, the above actual cost medical insurance provision not only excessively infringes on the freedom of contract by blocking medical consumers from signing up for actual cost medical insurance products that cover non-reimbursed oriental medicine medical services, but also does not fully and comprehensively cover medical expenses at all just because it is oriental medicine treatment, thus broadly infringing on an individual's right to choose medical care, right to access medical care, and the right to health or the right to health, raising the question of whether the principle of prohibition of excess is observed. Meanwhile, doctors and oriental medical doctors are both medical practitioners under Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act, and are essentially the same group in that the rights and duties of doctors and oriental medical doctors as medical practitioners are equally defined throughout the Medical Service Act. However, the above actual cost medical insurance provision provides for insurance coverage in principle for Western medical treatment in general, including non-reimbursed treatment, especially manual therapy and extracorporeal shock wave therapy, which have a high potential for abuse and are currently problematic, while oriental medical treatment is excluded from all coverage regardless of whether it is for therapeutic purposes. In other words, it violates the Constitution because it violates the basic rights of medical consumers, such as their right to self-determination, right to choose medical care, right to health, freedom of contract, and right to equality. Expanding the public's choice by legitimately re-covering non-covered treatment that was excluded from the standard terms and conditions would be the only way to gain national consensus.[View full article] [Contribution] Non-coverage treatment of Oriental medicine should be covered by actual cost insurance to expand the public’s choice (link)

Daeryun Law Firm announced on the 27th that it will recruit Chief Attorney Kang Young-woo (35th Judicial Research and Training Institute) and strengthen its capabilities in criminal cases, including violent crimes. Attorney Kang started out as the head of the investigation department at Daegu Dalseo Police Station in 2006, and served as the 2nd investigation chief, the head of the intelligent crime investigation team, the head of the violent crime department at the Daegu Provincial Police Agency, the chief of Ulleung Police Station, the chief of Uiseong Police Station, and the chief of Daegu Southern Police Station. Lawyer Kang, who is well-known as an investigative expert, has worked in the police force for over 20 years and has led various violent crimes such as murder, rape, and theft, as well as thousands of traffic crime cases. In particular, the voice phishing team was established for the first time in the country and received a lot of attention for not only arresting suspects but also supporting victims' recovery. In addition, we have a deep understanding of cyber investigations and various economic crimes, such as the 2011 middle school student suicide case due to group bullying, which became the first sign of the seriousness of school violence, the 'Jo Hee-pal' multi-level fraud case worth about 4 trillion won, the unfair treatment of local mayors, and violations of the Public Official Election Act by city hall officials. Attorney Kang said, "We have decades of police experience. “At Daeryun, we will do our best to sincerely communicate with and impress our clients by considering them as family rather than a simple contractual relationship,” he said. “Attorney Kang has the expertise to match the rapidly changing investigative system, and is a talent who can demonstrate outstanding abilities in criminal cases that require an urgent response, especially violent crimes,” he said. “This recruitment will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen the capabilities of the Daeryun Detective Group.” Lawissue Reporter Jeon Yong-mo (sisalaw@lawissue.co.kr)[View full article] Roishu - Daeryun recruits lawyer Kang Young-woo, former chief of Daegu Southern Police Station (link) Law Leader - Daeryun Law Firm recruits lawyer Kang Young-woo, former chief of Daegu Southern Police Station (link) Yeongnam Ilbo - Daeryun Law Firm recruits former Daegu Nambu Chief Kang Young-woo... Strengthening criminal response capabilities (link) Legal Times - [Law Firm iN] Dae-ryun joins lawyer Kang Young-woo, a former police officer (link) Seoul Shinmun - Daeryun Law Firm recruits Kang Young-woo, former chief of Daegu Southern Police Station... Strengthening criminal case capacity (link)

Daeryun Law Firm has a systematic expert recruitment system and group-specific ‘circle team(One Team)’ Through our strategy, we are strengthening both litigation competitiveness and corporate legal response capabilities..Daeryun only this year 79Recruited additional lawyers and experts 25revealed.Daeryun is not only a lawyer but also an accountant., patent attorney, tax accountant, labor attorney, Various experts, including customs experts, cooperate to provide legal assistance..It is thanks to the achievements accumulated so far that we have been able to secure talented people with such diverse practical experience.. Korea by introducing the advanced system of global law firm Baker McKinsey to suit domestic circumstances. 10Daeryun, which has grown into a large law firm, is seeking to become a global mega law firm starting with the opening of New York and Washington offices in the second half of this year..■Recruiting experts who cross boundaries…Providing multifaceted solutions Securing talent with abundant experience and a wide range of occupations is one of Daeryun’s core competitiveness.. past 1Cho Young-gon, who served as Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in February(training center 16energy) A lawyer joined us.. Attorney Cho was a prosecutor when he served as chief prosecutor. 4rough investigation, He led major cases such as illegal tax evasion by large corporations.. Yeo Sang-won, a senior judge at the Seoul Central District Court(17energy) A lawyer is also one of the key players.. Attorney Yeo won the drug price reduction lawsuit on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, received the Minister's Award, and has diverse experience, including as a trial researcher at the Supreme Court and as an arbitrator at the Korea Commercial Arbitration Board.. The two lawyers are Dae-ryun, head of the special practice division, and 1Take charge of the department SKT He plans to be at the forefront of corporate and mid-to-large-scale cases, including spearheading hacking lawsuits..Shin Il-soo also served as Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court.(19energy) lawyer, Cho Young-sam, who served as a judge at the Chuncheon District Court(24energy) lawyer, Kang Young-woo, lawyer with experience as Chief of Daegu Southern Police Station(35energy) Veterans are also joining the ranks.. Lawyer Shin 21Based on his years of experience as a judge, he will serve as the head of the Litigation Performance Management Division and direct all litigation matters.. In the case of Attorney Cho, who joined as head of the civil arbitration group., It also led to the Supreme Court's first precedent that land use fees related to long-term recognition of grave base rights can be claimed.. After completing the Judicial Research and Training Institute, approx. 20Attorney Kang, who served in the police force for several years, handles criminal cases in Daeryun based on his experience investigating various violent crimes..Experts from various occupations are also Daeryun’s central workforce.. Ministry of Strategy and Finance, At the Economic Planning Board, etc. 35Advisor Ahn Il-hwan, who served in public office for over a year and served as senior economic secretary in the Presidential Secretariat., With Samsung Medison SKExpert Nami Kwak, who led numerous patent litigation and licensing tasks at large corporations such as Hynix, He also served as the head of the Gwangju branch of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. 30Advisor Choi Myeong-soon, who has worked at the National Health Insurance Corporation for several years, is a major figure..■Finance/Big Tech·IT center, ‘three track’ Daeryun is establishing a strategic operating system for each base to strengthen corporate legal affairs.. Gangnam, Yeouido, The so-called connecting Pangyo ‘triangle belt’Focused on finance, big tech, Even startups are responding to the demands of each industry.. We provide advanced legal solutions by strengthening industry-specific advisory and litigation capabilities..Accordingly, lawyers specializing in corporate advisory and litigation are joining the ranks.. Recently, he became a debt collection lawyer registered with the Korean Bar Association. 1Ho Lee Sang-kwon(31energy) lawyer, Gyu-Chan Ho, who served as head of the legal team at K Bank(36energy) lawyer, ‘construction barrel’ Youngsik Shin(39energy) A new lawyer has joined.This lawyer has performed over thousands of collection cases both domestically and internationally., Forced execution procedures were taken, including the seizure of hundreds of bonds, real estate, and stocks.. Attorney Ho, a financial legal strategist, worked at Hana Bank and K Bank to promote bank mergers., Achieved success by taking on major cases such as responding to Financial Supervisory Service inspections. Lawyer Shin YExpected construction profits for reconstruction associations 130Leading major cases, such as lawsuits claiming hundreds of millions of won, to victory, As a hearing presiding officer for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, he has supported various construction and real estate tasks, including investigating evidence for administrative dispositions of construction companies..■Goal of entering major overseas cities…In this way, we are strengthening our expertise by recruiting key domestic talents and deploying global experts., Based on our achievements in Korea, we are considering this year as the first year of our global expansion.. Ahead of the opening of New York and Washington offices in the second half of the year, past 4On the other hand, a working-level meeting was held with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York.. future london, Hong Kong, We aim to expand into major overseas cities such as Tokyo..Experts in each field also joined in.. Dong-Hoo Son, an American lawyer who supported Celltrion Healthcare's expansion into the U.S. and the Small and Medium Business Corporation's overseas consulting projects(New York State), Mia Kim, an American attorney who is skilled in advising on the establishment of U.S. corporations and in matters related to immigration and visas.(washingtonD.C.), Customs expert Myung Jae-ho, who oversaw domestic and international trade reviews at large conglomerate affiliates and customs corporations, is at the forefront..Daeryun Kim Kook-il, CEO of Management, “Daeryun's core competitiveness lies in the recruitment of customized talent based on expertise and a practice-oriented operating system.”as “In order to actively respond to the rapidly changing global legal market, Daeryun continues to recruit talent with expertise in each field and field-oriented execution ability., We will achieve meaningful results in line with the expansion of corporate legal subjects and global expansion.”He said. Reporter Kwon Byeong-seok (bsk730@fnnews.com) [View full article] Financial News - Daeryun Law Firm forms 'one team' with diverse talents...expects 'quantum jump' (Go here) Sejeong Ilbo - Daeryun Law Firm, forming a ‘diversification and specialization’ team, ‘quantum jump’ in corporate legal affairs (link) Law Leader - Daeryun Law Firm’s recruitment strategy is ‘diversification and specialization’... The firm is also taking a quick step towards ‘quantum jump’ (link) Money S - "We also invite experts other than law"... Daeryun speeds up global expansion by strengthening capabilities (Shortcut)

Meeting minutes containing sensitive information are registered in the system without setting ‘employee viewing restrictions’… After being left alone for 2 years, the second trial court said, "I was found not guilty because there was no intent... There was negligence in not setting a viewing limit." A teacher who was indicted and acquitted on charges of leaking a colleague's sensitive personal information lost a lawsuit for related damages. The court ruled that even if criminal punishment was avoided because intentionality was not acknowledged, damages should be compensated to the injured party if there was negligence in the leak. On the 29th of last month, the 1st Civil Division of the Busan District Court overturned the original trial ruling and ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the appeal for damages filed by A, a teacher in his 50s, against a school corporation and teacher B. In 2019, Mr. A had a meeting with the school for the purpose of protecting school rights. The minutes of the meeting were completed based on the interview at the time, and the minutes contained sensitive personal information about Mr. A. The problem began when Mr. B, who was the head teacher at the time, uploaded the minutes to the Education Administration Information System (NEIS) without setting a ‘restriction on employee viewing’. This is because other faculty members can now freely view the meeting minutes containing Mr. A’s personal information. It was found that this state of full disclosure had been maintained for two years. Accordingly, Mr. A filed a claim for mental damages against Mr. B and the school corporation on the grounds that his sensitive information was leaked to a third party. On the other hand, Mr. B countered that he was not aware of the viewing restriction function and had no intention of spreading Mr. A's information. He also emphasized that the information was already known to other faculty members and that the meeting minutes were not leaked because NEIS was discontinued in December 2019. The first trial court ruled in Mr. B's favor. The court said, “Mr. B recorded the meeting minutes in accordance with the regulations and registered them in the system, but it appears that he was unaware of the viewing restriction function and registered them with the default setting of ‘do not set’,” and added, “Considering that Mr. B was indicted on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act and was found not guilty, it is difficult to acknowledge the illegality.” However, the judgment of the second trial court was different. The appellate court overturned the original trial ruling, saying, “Mr. B knew that the meeting minutes were a matter that should be kept private, so he should have checked the ‘employee viewing restrictions’ section and set it so that employees could not view them.” The defendant’s acquittal was not recognized as intentional, so he was not subject to criminal punishment, and his negligence in not setting employee viewing restrictions was recognized, so he is responsible for compensating the plaintiff for damages.” Daeryun Jeong Woo-young, a law firm representing Mr. A, said The lawyer explained, “Under the Personal Information Protection Act, ‘leakage’ refers to any act of revealing personal information to an unknown person, and if there is negligence for damages, liability cannot be avoided.” He added, “We were able to overturn the lower court ruling by emphasizing that not all teachers were aware of Mr. A’s sensitive information and that Mr. B’s actions amounted to a violation of the duty of care at work.” Reporter Kim Jong-cheol (jckim99@sportsseoul.com)[View full article] Teacher who leaked sensitive information... “If there is negligence, damages must be compensated” (Shortcut)

Let's announce the intention to terminate the sales contract after signing it... After remitting about 3% of the down payment, the court claims to 'maintain the contract' The court said, "Defendants made the deposit unilaterally with the purpose of extinguishing the plaintiff's right to cancel the contract" The Supreme Court ruled that in a real estate sales contract, unilaterally remitting only part of the down payment without the seller's consent and attempting to continue the contract was not justified. According to the legal community on the 25th, the Second Division of the Supreme Court filed a lawsuit to confirm the absence of debt filed by A, a woman in her 40s, against B and his wife on the 1st of last month. The appellate court confirmed the original decision, which ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Mr. A signed a contract to sell the apartment he owns to Mr. B and his wife in 2020. Mr. B and his wife first remitted 30 million won as a down payment and promised to pay the balance the following year. A few days later, Mr. A announced his intention to terminate the contract to the real estate agency due to personal reasons. However, conflict arose when Mr. B and his wife suddenly transferred 10 million won to Mr. A. It has begun. Mr. A argued that unilaterally sending money regardless of his will cannot be considered fulfillment of the sales contract. In addition, he deposited 70 million won in accordance with the terms of the contract, which states that 'the seller may repay the deposit and cancel the contract until the buyer pays the balance,' and emphasized that the contract was legally terminated. However, Mr. B and his wife insisted that the contract for sale had already begun with their own transfer before the deposit was made, so they did not pay the deposit. They countered that cancellation of the contract due to repayment is impossible. The court of the first trial ruled in favor of Mr. B and his wife. The court said, “There is no evidence to suggest that there was a special clause in the contract not to begin performance of the balance before the payment date.” It said, “The defendants, who are the purchasers, should be considered to be able to begin performance of the balance even before the payment date of the balance.” However, the judgment of the second trial court was different. The appellate court said, “The defendants paid part of the balance immediately after learning of the possibility of the plaintiff canceling the contract.” “We paid, but that amount is only about 3% of the total contract deposit,” he said. “This appears to have been unilaterally deposited with the purpose of extinguishing the plaintiff’s right to cancel the contract, so it cannot be viewed as a legitimate provision of performance.” He added, “Therefore, the contract can be considered canceled at the time the notice of cancellation of the sales contract reached the defendants.” The Supreme Court also dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment. Attorney Choi Han-sik of Daeryun Law Firm, who has represented Mr. A since the appellate trial, explained, "If the seller also has a benefit due on the payment date of the balance of the real estate sales contract, this applies when there are special circumstances that prevent the debtor from commencing performance before the performance period." He added, "These special circumstances include the content of the obligation, the performance of the obligation, and acts that unfairly interfere with the other party's exercise of the right to release." He continued, "Mr. B and his wife only account for a very small portion of the total balance. He explained, “Only 10 million won was unilaterally deposited into the plaintiff’s account, and this can be seen as an act that violates the rules of good faith,” and “We were able to win the case by emphasizing that this act was aimed at interfering with Mr. A’s right to statutory discharge.” Shin Min-ji (sourminjee@ikbc.co.kr)[View full article] Small remittance despite knowing the possibility of contract cancellation...Supreme Court says it does not provide legal performance (link)

A man in his 40s who was sent to trial on charges of forcible harassment after drinking with a woman without knowing she was a minor was found not guilty. This is because the court judged that the crime could not be proven due to inconsistencies in the woman's statement. According to the legal community on the 24th, the Busan District Court recently declared A, in her 40s, not guilty, who was recently sent to trial on charges of forcible harassment. In April of last year, Mr. A was summarily indicted on charges of touching the shoulders and thighs of Ms. B, a teenager she met while drinking with an acquaintance, and was ordered to be summarily fined, but he objected and requested a formal trial. During the trial, Mr. A denied the charges, saying, “I never once revealed that Ms. B was a minor.” The court ruled that Mr. B’s statement was not credible and declared him not guilty. This is because key statements, such as where the person was seated and how he or she got to know Mr. A, were different between the investigative agency and the court, and the statements were inconsistent, with content that was not said by the investigative agency being newly mentioned in the court. The court also ruled that it was difficult to say that there was proof of a crime because the people who were present at the drinking party each gave different statements about whether or not A had physical contact with B. Jang Ho-cheol, an attorney at the Daeryun Law Firm who represented Mr. A, said, “In a sex crime case, the judge must leave a reasonable doubt beyond a reasonable doubt. “If we are not sure that the indictment is true, we must judge it in the defendant’s interest,” he said. “Mr. B kept changing his statement and even asked for settlement money with his acquaintances. By explaining these strange circumstances, we were able to get a not guilty verdict.” Busan reporter Jeong Cheol-wook[View full article] After drinking together, “I’m a minor”… A person in his 40s was found not guilty on charges of forced harassment (link)

The prosecution said, "The fact that the embezzled money was remitted alone does not prove prior knowledge." A, a woman in her 30s who was sent to the prosecution on charges of using company money stolen by her husband for living expenses, was cleared of charges. On the 20th of last month, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Ms. A, who was sent to the prosecution on charges of embezzlement under the Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes Act. Ms. A was accused of conspiring with her husband, Mr. B, to embezzle 700 million won in company funds over a period of 3 years and 6 months starting in April 2021. This case began when the company, which discovered Mr. B's embezzlement, filed a complaint against Mr. A. Mr. B registered his wife, Ms. A, as an employee of the company and had her receive a remittance of 130 million won as salary. Afterwards, Mr. B, who had been embezzling company money for over three years, could not handle it and committed suicide, and the embezzlement was revealed by the company while reviewing the accounting data. During the prosecution investigation, Mr. A completely denied the charges of embezzlement. Although she acknowledged that she had received part of the embezzlement, she claimed that she had no knowledge that her husband had embezzled company funds. In addition, Ms. A said, "My husband was entirely in charge of financial management, including salaries, and the amount remitted was not large, averaging about 3 million won per time," and explained, "All the money I received was used for living expenses." The prosecution reasoned that it was difficult to prove that Ms. A was aware of the embezzlement in advance based on the fact that she received money remittances every month. The charges were dismissed. Kim Dong-jin, a lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm who represented Mr. A, said, "In order to establish a common crime, the 'subjective requirement' of committing a crime together and the 'objective requirement' corresponding to the fact that it was committed must be met. Although it is true that a certain amount of money was transferred to Mr. A's account, Mr. A convincingly demonstrated that he had no knowledge of the source or purpose of the funds and was not involved in the process of using the money at all." Reporter Jeong Ye-eun (ye9@kyeonggi.com)[View full article] Wife not prosecuted for embezzling 700 million won from husband and using it for living expenses... “I’m not a co-principal” (Shortcut)

As the popularity of online games increases, the number of items and money transactions used within the game naturally increases. However, most game companies restrict cash transactions of game items, money, and accounts between users according to their terms and conditions. If caught, you may be subject to sanctions such as permanent account suspension. The reason game companies prevent the cashing of in-game assets is to avoid encouraging ‘speculative behavior.’ In particular, according to the Game Industry Act, game-related business operators must not allow or encourage gambling using games. This is because exchanging game money for cash induces excessive gambling and undermines a healthy gaming culture. As such, monetary transactions within online games are fraught with risk. Although transactions between individuals may not be illegal in themselves, they are likely to be subject to sanctions because they violate the game company's terms and conditions. In particular, caution is required as you may be punished for fraud if you make a profit through deception during the transaction process. In this regard, I will look at a case I was in charge of. The client, the suspect, was a user who enjoyed playing online RPG games and often sold game money to other users for cash. One day, the suspect made a deal with someone he met through an anonymous chat room. The other party transferred approximately 20 million won in cash to the suspect and received game money. However, the other party's game account was permanently suspended due to the game terms and conditions, which state that illegal acquisition of game money can result in sanctions such as account blocking. According to this policy, the other side, which had about 100 million won in game money and items tied up in the game, ended up making absurd demands on the suspect. He insisted on compensation in cash for 100 million won, the amount of game money tied up in his account. When the suspect refused to comply with the ridiculous demand, the other party eventually sued the suspect for fraud. To resolve the case, the first thing I did was check the game terms and conditions. According to the terms and conditions, the game company owns the cyber assets traded between the complainant and the suspect, so it was difficult to say that there was an objective transfer of value based on social norms. In addition, the complainant also knew that the use of game money could be suspended during cash transactions, so it could not be said that the suspect deceived the complainant. Thanks to the explanation of these legal aspects to the police, this case was successfully dismissed. Incidents related to virtual spaces such as games are constantly increasing. You may encounter unexpected disputes during the transaction process, but it may also happen that you do not receive legal protection. Therefore, users considering financial transactions within online games should be aware of the risks and make decisions based on sufficient information, and if they are already involved in a dispute, it is recommended that they seek out an expert who has handled many related cases. Small and Medium Business Team[View full article] Risks of financial transactions in online games and countermeasures (link)

A similar banner was hung in Yeoksam-dong, in front of the Raemian apartment complex in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam-gu, which is considered one of Seoul's representative wealthy villages. A banner accusing a spouse of having an affair was hung in front of the apartment complex. An expert who saw this expressed concern about defamation to Segye Ilbo on the 24th. According to various media outlets on this day, banners accusing adultery were reportedly hung in Gaepo-dong and Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The banner reads, ‘No. ○○○, ○○○-dong, who has two children and seduces a married man to run two houses. It reads, ‘Kim ○○, the adulteress at a bar who ruined someone’s family, be careful of the flower snake!’ Next, as if taking into account the possibility of being sued for defamation, certain dong/housing numbers and the endings of names are marked with a star (*) in the content. Also, a banner hung in front of a building in Yeoksam-dong reads, ‘A married man with two children acts as a bachelor, lives with an adulterous woman for three years, and is shameless and shameless with no remorse.’ Likewise, the name and workplace of the man on the Yeoksam-dong banner were mosaicized. In particular, the two banners even contain affectionate photos of a man and woman believed to be having an affair. The unidentified person holding the banner covered their eyes, but bystanders appear to be able to recognize the person involved. These banners were hung at the entrance to the apartment complex and in the lane where many vehicles pass by, causing controversy as not only nearby residents but also a citizen who saw the banner posted a photo on the Internet. Regarding this banner, lawyer Kim Dong-jin of Daeryun Law Firm expressed concern to Segye Ilbo on this day, saying, “It is a requirement for establishing defamation under Article 307 (1) of the Criminal Act, and specificity is an issue.” He said, “In the case of specificity, it is recognized as a direct statement, but if the general public can know who the person is talking about through indirect information, the requirement for specificity is satisfied.” He also said, “It is somewhat difficult to predict the establishment of guilt or innocence based on the content of the banner in question.” He continued, “The banner avoids specificity by refraining from mentioning the real name and listing the last digit of the residence number in question as *. Therefore, if the other party can be sufficiently identified with the number of apartments in question and the additional information revealed in addition to the given information, this constitutes specificity in defamation.” At the same time, he advised, “In the case of defamation when the facts are stated, punishment can be avoided if it is for the public interest according to the reasons for illegality under Article 310 of the Criminal Act.” “However, in this case, it is difficult to say that it was for the public interest, so Article 310 of the Criminal Act does not seem to apply.” Reporter Lee Dong-jun (blondie@segye.com)[View full article] ‘Gangnam Gaepo Raemian affair incident’… Expert concerns about “problematic issue” (link)