[Bar Association President Election] An Byeonghee "The Only Candidate to Normalize Abnormalities and Correct Current Administration's Mistakes"

"Seeking Fundamental Solutions to Issues with Private Legal Platforms"
"High Possibility of Bar Association Disciplinary Actions Being Overturned by Ministry of Justice or Courts"
"Association Should No Longer Be a Means for Profit"

Attorney Byeonghee An, who ran for the 52nd President of the Korean Bar Association./Photo by Attorney Byeonghee An's Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Election campaigns are in full swing to elect the 52nd President of the Korean Bar Association.

Candidate No. 2, Ahn Byung-hee, Chief Attorney at Hanjoong Law Firm (60, 7th Military Legal Officer Appointment Exam), has adopted the catchphrase "Normalize the abnormal! Turn incompetence into competence!"

He pointed out that from 2021 to 2022, the Bar Association suffered four consecutive legal defeats against the Fair Trade Commission, the prosecution, and the Constitutional Court regarding legal platforms, stating "In the past two years, the Bar Association has been solely focused on attacking LawTalk and disciplining members, making the lives of members even harder."

In particular, in his first election leaflet, he revealed, "In the past two years, lawyers from certain groups have monopolized key positions in the Korean Bar Association and the Seoul Bar Association alternately, handled lawsuits related to platforms and similar professions, and significantly raised the limit on additional executive expenses. The association must no longer become a means of making money." He exposed the facts of 'self-appointment' and 'self-increase.'

However, the Bar Association's Election Commission requested revisions or deletions of such content in the campaign materials and threatened not to send the entire leaflet if no revised draft was submitted, resulting in replacement with a black page. Recently, the court accepted Ahn's injunction application, which ironically became an issue.

Ahn graduated from Gwangju Seoseok High School and Yonsei University Law School. He completed his master's and doctoral courses at Yonsei University Graduate School. After passing the 7th Military Legal Officer Appointment Exam in 1986, he served as a military prosecutor, military judge, and legal staff officer of the 1st Army Corps. He opened his law practice in 1997. Ahn has served as ▲ Adjunct Professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of Law ▲ Arbitrator at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board ▲ Special Prosecutor for Sponsor Prosecutors, and held positions such as auditor of the Seoul Bar Association in 2013 and auditor of the Korean Bar Association in 2017.

Below is a Q&A with Attorney Ahn.

- What is your reason for running for the Bar Association presidency?

▲ Over the past two years, the Tax Accountant Act passed the plenary session, accelerating the encroachment of similar professions. Numerous cases threatening lawyers' safety have occurred, and private legal platforms have received investments exceeding several billion won, placing us in an unprecedented crisis. The Bar Association, which should protect lawyers' rights, has shown incompetence and weakness externally while obsessing over disciplining members internally, displaying an abnormal state that prompted me to run.

- What is the top priority pledge you will pursue?

▲ The top priority pledge is to normalize the abnormal. I will form a dedicated task force (TF) for National Assembly activities to desperately block amendments to the Labor Attorney Act and Patent Attorney Act that directly infringe on lawyers' litigation rights, and restore the Tax Accountant Act to reinstate tax market agency rights.

Meanwhile, expanding the legal market is also important. I will introduce mandatory lawyer representation from the appellate court level, require national and local governments to appoint legal officers, and restrict qualifications for administrative litigation practitioners to lawyers only. The mandatory installation threshold for compliance officers in listed companies will be lowered from total assets of 500 billion won to 300 billion won, with qualifications limited to lawyers. I will introduce an external legal audit system and discovery system, where external law firms periodically audit and disclose corporate compliance management.

Thus, I will not be satisfied with merely protecting the profession but will actively expand it, safeguard members' safety, and decisively block the domination of private legal platforms.

- What is your stance on LawTalk and your future response plan?

▲ I firmly oppose the market encroachment by private platforms. However, rather than superficial disciplinary measures, I will seek fundamental solutions.

To solve the legal platform issue, we need to consider why legal platforms emerged. Young lawyers without opportunities to promote themselves resort to platforms to secure cases, and legal platforms arose due to public demand for legal market access. Therefore, we must create a foundation for young lawyers to promote themselves and fundamentally prevent the closed nature of the legal market by fully disclosing court rulings and opening legal access.

Meanwhile, I will pursue measures to fundamentally resolve platform issues, such as amending the Attorney Act to limit advertising to lawyers, improving exposure centered on advertising costs, enhancing operating systems, and mandating the Bar Association's prior review of advertisements. I will actively promote legislation where necessary.

- If the Ministry of Justice decides to cancel disciplinary actions against lawyers registered with LawTalk?

▲ The Korean Bar Association has mostly failed in other means to respond to platforms and is solely focused on disciplining members. However, given the Bar Association's continuous defeats in platform-related lawsuits, it is highly likely that disciplinary actions will be canceled by the Ministry of Justice or courts. If this happens, there will be no means to counter platforms, leaving us defenseless against the market encroachment by private platforms.

I will prepare response plans assuming disciplinary actions are likely to be canceled. I will listen to lawyers who risked discipline to use platforms and seek alternative measures. As stated earlier, I will pursue fundamental solutions to platform issues and actively promote necessary legislation.

- What is your unique strength that differentiates you from other candidates?

▲ I am the only candidate who does not inherit the current Bar Association executive body. The current executive has failed in government relations by allowing encroachment by similar professions such as tax accountants, patent attorneys, and labor attorneys, suffered repeated defeats in platform-related lawsuits, focused only on disciplining members, and failed to curb private platforms despite these companies receiving over 48 billion won in investments this year alone. I am the only candidate who can correct these mistakes.

I have served as auditor for both the Seoul Bar Association and the Korean Bar Association, uncovered and resolved the previously mismanaged allowance issues, and understand the administration more deeply than anyone else. I have the capability to prevent wasteful spending of members' fees, double members' income, and halve executives' benefits.

Also, as a military legal officer exam graduate and a minority in the legal community, I understand the hardships and grievances of minorities better than anyone. I consider myself the right person to create a Bar Association that harmonizes without discrimination based on background, gender, or age.

Furthermore, I am confident that I am best suited for open communication. Currently, the Bar Association does not disclose general meeting minutes, allowance details, or case handling records, and obstructs proper audits, consistently showing poor communication. I do not believe other candidates, who were part of the current executive, will be able to communicate effectively in the future.

I am the only candidate who will restore the abnormal to normal, expand the legal market, ensure lawyers' safety, and achieve harmony among members.

[Notice] Initially, this publication requested written interviews from the campaign representatives of the three candidates for the Bar Association presidency?Kim Young-hoon (No. 1), Ahn Byung-hee (No. 2), and Park Jong-heun (No. 3)?and received consent. However, Kim Young-hoon's side later informed us that due to internal circumstances, they could not participate in the interview, so we regretfully conducted interviews only with the remaining two candidates.

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