Ministry of Justice to Implement Measures to Eradicate 'Jeongwan Privileges'... "Maximum 3-Year Restriction on Former Judges' Legal Cases"

On the 17th, Lee Yong-gu, Chief of the Legal Affairs Office, announced measures to eradicate preferential treatment for former legal professionals at the 2nd floor conference room of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul. (Photo by Choi Seok-jin)

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The restriction period for former high-ranking prosecutors and judges turned private attorneys to take cases will be extended from the current one year to up to three years. Penalties for "secret litigation," where attorneys argue cases without submitting a formal notice of representation, will also be strengthened.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Justice announced the "Measures to Eradicate Special Privileges for Former Legal Officials," which includes these details. The plan aims to eliminate special privileges for former officials at every stage, from case acceptance and litigation to prosecution investigations and subsequent disciplinary actions. Specifically, four measures will be promoted: ▲Eradication of special privileges in attorney case acceptance and litigation stages ▲Elimination of legal brokers ▲Eradication of special privileges during investigation procedures ▲Strengthening the function of the Legal Ethics Council and establishing disciplinary standards.

First, attorneys who are former high-ranking prosecutors and judges subject to asset disclosure will be prohibited from taking cases from the institutions they served within three years prior to retirement for up to three years after retirement. This applies to positions such as chief prosecutors, high court chief judges, police officials at the rank of Commissioner General or higher, and public officials at grade 1 or above. Deputy chief prosecutors of district prosecutors' offices and senior deputy chief judges of district courts, who are subject to employment screening based on handling institutional affairs, will have their restriction period extended to two years after retirement. Currently, the Attorney-at-Law Act limits the case acceptance period for former public officials to one year.

A new provision will also be introduced to punish simple secret litigation without the intent to evade tax evasion or other legal restrictions. The current Attorney-at-Law Act makes it practically difficult to punish secret litigation unless it is intended to evade tax evasion or legal restrictions, and even when punishable, the penalties are low, leading to criticism of ineffectiveness.

The newly established regulation allows punishment of simple secret litigation without justifiable reasons with "imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW." For cases involving tax evasion or evasion of legal restrictions, penalties will be strengthened from the current "imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW" to "imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW." Penalties will also be increased for cases where attorneys handle matters they dealt with while in office after becoming lawyers.

"Telephone litigation," where attorneys exert influence by calling prosecutors or courts without submitting a notice of representation, will be generally prohibited. However, telephone litigation will be allowed only in exceptional cases such as at the request of the chief prosecutor or in urgent circumstances. Oral litigation by telephone or visits from a superior of the decision-maker is prohibited except for the purpose of correcting improper exercise of prosecutorial authority such as procedural violations.

Penalties for public officials involved in recommending attorneys during trials or investigations will also be strengthened from the current "imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW" to "imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW."

A new prohibition clause will be introduced against promoting connections with personnel in public institutions to secure cases. The scope of the prohibition will be expanded from investigative and judicial institutions to investigative agencies such as the National Tax Service and the Fair Trade Commission.

Additionally, the Ministry of Justice plans to establish a Legal Corruption Reporting Center within the Legal Ethics Council to create a continuous monitoring system and set up a dedicated investigation team for legal corruption. The disciplinary standards of the Korean Bar Association will also be strengthened. The existing code of conduct officers in each prosecution office, who are responsible for inspection, will be designated as "Officers in Charge of Preventing Special Privileges for Former Officials" and tasked with conducting surveys, managing current status, and improving systems related to special privileges for former officials.

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