Rotok "Advertising Regulation Revision is Unconstitutional" Constitutional Complaint... Intensifying Conflict with Lawyer Associations

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 31st, Law&Company, which operates the online lawyer advertising platform ‘Lotok’, along with 60 advertisers and lawyers, filed a constitutional complaint against the amendment to the ‘Regulations on Lawyer Advertising’ by the Korean Bar Association.

The Korean Bar Association plans to enforce the regulation from August 4, claiming that it violates constitutional principles such as prohibition of excess, protection of trust, equality, and clarity. In May, the Bar Association revised the lawyer advertising regulations through its board meeting to completely ban promotions via online platforms. Accordingly, members who request advertisements on platforms that connect lawyers and consumers for economic compensation or promote lawyers will be disciplined.

Lotok has protested, saying the amendment targets them. Lotok is a service that charges lawyers a monthly fee to place advertisements on its website. Recently, many agency services using online platforms have emerged in the market, including in the legal sector. It is sometimes called the ‘Tada’ of the legal world. Currently, about 4,000 lawyers use it. It is mainly used by lawyers working at small and medium law firms or individual legal offices who find it difficult to conduct large-scale advertising due to circumstances.

Lawyer organizations argue that it violates the Lawyer Act’s provision that ‘non-lawyers should not mediate lawyers’ and that promoting lawyers and receiving commissions is akin to ‘illegal brokers.’ The Korean Bar Association changed the lawyer advertising regulations, and the Seoul Bar Association stated on the same day, "We will use all legal means to correct illegal acts by legal platforms and strongly prevent recurrence of similar issues." On the 27th, it also sent emails to its member lawyers recommending withdrawal from Lotok.

In response, Lotok is reportedly considering not only the constitutional complaint but also administrative litigation and filing a report with the Fair Trade Commission to seek legal judgment. Opinions in the legal community are divided, but slightly more believe that Lotok is not illegal. The prosecution decided not to indict, stating that the case filed by the Korean Bar Association and Seoul Bar Association accusing Lotok of violating the Lawyer Act is not a violation. The Ministry of Justice has also internally judged that Lotok is "not illegal" and is reportedly awaiting the outcome of the constitutional complaint.

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