Korean Bar Association Publishes 'COVID-19 Legal Consultation Q&A'... Available for Download on Website

[Asia Economy Reporter Seokjin Choi] As various legal disputes caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are anticipated, the Korean Bar Association (President Lee Chan-hee) has created a guidebook titled “COVID-19 Legal Consultation Q&A.”

On the 27th, the Bar Association announced that it published the “COVID-19 Legal Consultation Q&A,” which can assist lawyers handling various legal disputes arising from COVID-19 and related legal consultations, and posted it on its website.

The “COVID-19 Legal Consultation Q&A” was prepared based on actual legal consultation cases from various fields.

In early last month, the Bar Association appointed lawyer Shin Hyun-ho (Law Office Haewool), who serves as the Chair of the Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee, as the chairperson and appointed a total of 19 members to form the “Korean Bar Association COVID-19 Legal Support Task Force.”

The Task Force has been operating in four teams for efficient legal support related to the COVID-19 outbreak: ① General Support Team ② Legal Consultation Support Team ③ Legal and System Improvement and External Cooperation Team ④ Damage Relief Team. A total of 43 lawyers, including working-level members, participated in the preparation of this legal consultation Q&A.

The Q&A book contains questions and answers on various legal issues that may arise due to the COVID-19 situation.

The Q&A book is broadly organized into 11 main topics: ▲ Lease relationships ▲ Cancellation of travel, events, and other contracts ▲ Contractual relationships due to false or exaggerated advertising ▲ Company management issues such as temporary closures and business deterioration ▲ Labor relations including paid leave and compensation for business suspension ▲ Overseas stay, travel, and international/diplomatic relations ▲ Criminal matters ▲ Compensation and indemnity issues ▲ Insurance matters ▲ Human rights violations ▲ Education. Each main topic is further divided into about 5 to 12 detailed items, resulting in approximately 150 Q&As in total.

Specifically, it covers civil issues such as penalty fees for cancellation of travel and accommodation contracts, rent adjustment issues in residential or commercial lease relationships, and dismissal issues under labor contracts; criminal issues such as obstruction of business related to masks and violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act; human rights issues related to claims for damages against the state and disclosure of individual confirmed patients’ movement paths; insurance-related issues; and refund issues related to academy classes.

In his foreword, President Lee stated, “It is time for legal professionals to actively step forward for the development of legal order and compliance culture befitting the dignity of the people,” and explained the background of producing the Q&A book as “addressing the urgent task of restoring the daily lives of citizens affected by COVID-19.”

He added, “The Korean Bar Association formed the COVID-19 Legal Support Task Force to resolve public concerns about various social issues arising from COVID-19, support victims, and assist members providing related legal consultations. We produced the legal consultation Q&A book for each field,” and expressed hope that “this legal consultation Q&A book will contribute to solving the legal problems of citizens suffering from COVID-19 and be usefully utilized in members’ work such as legal consultations and litigation related to COVID-19.”

The Q&A book, produced in e-book format, can be downloaded free of charge from the data room and other publications section on the Bar Association’s website (koreanbar.or.kr).

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