'Rotok' Recognized as Legal by Prosecutors and Police for 3 Consecutive Times: "Will Hold Legal Responsibility for Illegal Sales"

[Photo by Roen Company]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] "If Lotok is illegally defamed, we will hold legal responsibility."

Lotok, which had been at odds with lawyer organizations over its legal platform service, has switched to a counterattack mode. After being recognized as ‘legal’ three consecutive times by the police and prosecution, it changed its previously defensive stance. On the 4th, Jung Jae-sung, Vice President of Law&Company, said at a press conference, "There is no longer any basis to sanction a platform that has been concluded as legal by investigative agencies, and the regulations to discipline lawyers have lost their legitimacy," demanding that the Korean Bar Association immediately withdraw disciplinary procedures against Lotok lawyers under the current administration. He added, "If anyone obstructs legitimate lawyer work by falsely defaming Lotok as illegal in the future, we will take all possible measures to hold them legally accountable to the end."

On the 31st of last month, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dismissed and decided not to prosecute the case in which an organization called Jikyuk Suho Byeonhodan accused Law&Company, the operator of Lotok, of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. Jikyuk Suho Byeonhodan claimed that Lotok was providing a paid case brokerage service prohibited by Article 34 of the Attorney-at-Law Act, but the police did not accept this. The police also decided not to prosecute on other charges, including that Lotok’s AI-based ‘Lotok Sentencing Prediction’ and Lotok’s branding advertisements violated the Attorney-at-Law Act. Previously, the prosecution had dismissed complaints filed by the Seoul Bar Association in 2014 and the Korean Bar Association in 2016.

The Korean Bar Association’s room for maneuver has narrowed. In May last year, it revised the ‘Regulations on Lawyer Advertising’ and referred 201 Lotok member lawyers to a special investigation committee, initiating disciplinary procedures. However, in November of the same year, the Fair Trade Commission concluded that these regulations by the Bar Association were illegal and began sanctions, blocking the process. On the 26th of last month, at a forum hosted by the Seoul Bar Association, executives of lawyer organizations and Lotok representatives met face-to-face for the first time but only reaffirmed their differences.

Regarding the Seoul police’s decision not to prosecute, the Bar Association stated, "It is inconsistent with the financial authorities’ orthodox interpretation and lacks a legally in-depth judgment," adding, "We plan to file an objection and other complaints remain. We hope the prosecution and courts will make a clear judgment." While awaiting decisions from other institutions such as the Constitutional Court, prosecution, and courts, the Bar Association is reportedly taking steps to launch a ‘public platform’ called the Lawyer Information Center as a self-help measure. This is effectively a ‘full-scale war’ to compete with Lotok through a platform. The Bar Association is said to have recently selected developers through a public bidding process and officially placed orders.

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