President of the Korean Patent Attorneys Association Expelled by the Patent Attorneys Association... Supreme Court Rules "Expulsion Invalid"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Amid the conflict between the legal and patent attorney sectors over dominance in the patent litigation market, the Supreme Court ruled that the expulsion of a lawyer who founded the Korean Patent Attorneys Association from the Korean Patent Attorneys Society was invalid.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Noh Jung-hee) announced on the 13th that it upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of lawyer Kim Seung-yeol (59, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 14), who filed a lawsuit against the Korean Patent Attorneys Society requesting confirmation that his expulsion was invalid.

In December 2016, the Patent Attorneys Society held a disciplinary committee meeting and expelled lawyer Kim. The reason was that he advocated for lawyer-centered patent litigation and criticized the recognition of patent attorneys' authority to represent in patent lawsuits, and established the Korean Patent Attorneys Association, an organization denying the existence and objectives of the Patent Attorneys Society, serving as its inaugural president.

In response, lawyer Kim filed a lawsuit claiming, "The expulsion is invalid as it misinterprets the purpose of establishing the Korean Patent Attorneys Association and constitutes an abuse of disciplinary authority." Both the first and second trials ruled in favor of lawyer Kim.

The Supreme Court also stated, "It is acknowledged that lawyer Kim acted as the president of the Korean Patent Attorneys Association, expressing opinions contrary to the traditional stance of the Patent Attorneys Society. However, considering the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and association, as well as relevant provisions of the Patent Attorney Act, it is difficult to interpret that joining an organization expressing views different from the Patent Attorneys Society is prohibited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.