Constitutional Court Rules "Provisions of the Attorney-at-Law Act Prohibiting Concurrent Positions at Law Firms Are Constitutional"

Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court is delivering a ruling on the constitutional petition filed by the family of the late farmer Baek Nam-gi in December 2015, claiming that the police's direct water cannon action violated the Constitution, at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 23rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the provision in the Attorney-at-Law Act, which prohibits law firms from engaging in profit-making businesses while performing their core duties such as legal representation, does not violate the Constitution.

On the 21st, the Constitutional Court announced that it reached a unanimous decision to uphold the constitutionality of Article 57 of the Attorney-at-Law Act, which prohibits law firms from engaging in profit-making activities other than legal practice, in response to a constitutional complaint filed by Law Firm A claiming that the provision infringed on the freedom of business.

The Court stated, "The non-application of Article 38, Paragraph 2 of the Attorney-at-Law Act, which allows exceptions for concurrent positions, to law firms is intended to prevent law firms from being transformed into mere profit-seeking enterprises," adding, "The purpose is to prevent the mixing of the lawyer’s duties and profit-making activities when law firms perform both simultaneously. This legislative purpose is legitimate."

It further added, "If law firms were to be transformed into profit-making enterprises, it could lead to a general decline in trust in lawyers’ duties and cause unforeseen harm to legal consumers."

Law Firm A applied to the local bar association for 'permission for concurrent positions' to engage in profit-making businesses, but the local bar association rejected the application based on the Attorney-at-Law Act.

Individual lawyers may exceptionally engage in profit-making activities with permission from the local bar association under Articles 57 and 38 of the Attorney-at-Law Act, but law firms are categorically prohibited from holding concurrent positions without exception.

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