"Seoul Bar Association Urged to Explain 8th Corruption Allegations"... Protest Rally Held

Seogwonmo Urges Seoulhoe to Explain Allegations of 'Mismanagement and Privatization'
Also Requests Special Audit

On the morning of the 3rd, in front of the Seoul Bar Association building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, lawyers belonging to the "Meeting for the Protection of Seoul Bar Members' Rights (Seogwonmo)" held a rally to demand clarification and a special audit regarding allegations of "mismanagement of association affairs" and "privatization of association affairs" by the Seoul Bar Association. Photo by Choi Seok-jin

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Amid allegations of salary increases for executives of the Seoul Bar Association (Seoul Association) who are former and current executives of the Korean Legal Professionals Association (Hanbeophyeop) during the campaign for the President of the Korean Bar Association, a rally demanding explanations and a special audit regarding various suspicions surrounding the Seoul Association was held.

The "Group for the Protection of Seoul Association Members' Rights (Seogwonmo)" held a rally from 11:30 a.m. on the 3rd in front of the Seoul Bar Association building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to demand explanations and a special audit regarding allegations of "mismanagement" and "privatization of affairs" by the Seoul Association.

Seogwonmo is a lawyers' organization formed to protect the rights and interests of lawyers affiliated with the Seoul Association.

Lawyers belonging to Seogwonmo who participated in the rally held placards in front of the Seoul Association building demanding clarification of the eight major corruption allegations against the Seoul Association, with slogans such as "Explain the mismanagement allegations!" and "Explain the privatization of affairs allegations!"

Seogwonmo stated, "Today, we gathered here to raise allegations of corruption against the 96th Seoul Association executive team recently raised and to urge the Seoul Association executive team to explain these allegations."

Seogwonmo added, "At first, when the corruption allegations against the Seoul Association executive team were raised, we thought that the executive team, being lawyers themselves, would not have committed such corruption. However, during the recent Korean Bar Association election campaign, it was revealed that the Korean Bar Association executives self-assigned cases related to LawTalk, and it was also revealed that the Seoul Association executives self-increased their salaries."

Seogwonmo continued, "Subsequently, numerous suspicions regarding the Seoul Association emerged one after another, and we became aware of various allegations surrounding the Seoul Association executive team. Without clear explanations from the Seoul Association executive team regarding these corruption allegations, the fairness of the Seoul Association's affairs cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, we, Seogwonmo, take this opportunity to raise these corruption allegations and urge explanations," emphasizing their stance.

Seogwonmo also stated, "According to Article 11, Paragraph 4 of the Seoul Association bylaws, Seoul Association members have the 'right to inspect' Seoul Association documents. We plan to immediately request access to documents related to the executive team's corruption allegations upon concluding this rally."

Furthermore, Seogwonmo urged the Seoul Association to clarify the following eight major corruption allegations currently circulating among Seoul Association members regarding the 96th executive team: ▲ Hiring of acquaintances by the Seoul Association president and the reason for establishing a salary for the Legal Affairs Director (who is also the Hanbeophyeop president) ▲ Research guidance project expenses (a 50% increase compared to the previous executive team's budget) expenditure items and recipients ▲ Allegations of self-appointment in litigation related to LawTalk response ▲ Allegations regarding the selection of Storming Labs, a developer of "My Lawyer," and a mask supply company ▲ Reasons for providing various subsidies exclusively to the Korean Legal Professionals Association and for leasing the Seoul Association office rent-free ▲ Allegations of self-cross awards between Korean Bar Association and Seoul Association executives ▲ Allegations of an extravagant 70 million KRW business trip by three executives ▲ Allegations of private use of official vehicles outside working hours.

Seogwonmo reiterated, "We urge the 96th Seoul Association executive team not to hide these eight major corruption allegations but to transparently disclose information and provide explanations to the member lawyers of the Seoul Association."

On the same day, Seogwonmo submitted a request for a special audit to the Seoul Association.

Kim Jeong-wook, former president of the Seoul Association who recently resigned to run again in the upcoming Seoul Association presidential election at the end of this month, previously served as the 1st and 2nd president of Hanbeophyeop, an organization of lawyers from law schools. Kim formed much of the Seoul Association executive team with Hanbeophyeop executives, and Seogwonmo demands an explanation for the reason behind establishing a salary for the Legal Affairs Director, which was not originally paid.

The current Legal Affairs Director of the Seoul Association is Attorney Kim Ki-won, who is the current president of Hanbeophyeop and previously served as president of Hanbeophyeop when Kim Jeong-wook was Seoul Association president.

Earlier, candidate Ahn Byung-hee, who ran in this Korean Bar Association presidential election, revealed in his first election leaflet that the current Seoul Association executive team, composed of former and current Hanbeophyeop executives, self-increased the additional expense limit they receive beyond their monthly salary by 66%.

According to this, Kim Jeong-wook, the first president of Hanbeophyeop, had his additional expense limit beyond his 9 million KRW monthly salary dramatically increased by 66%, from 3 million KRW to 5 million KRW per month.

Also, the current Seoul Association Secretary-General, who is the standing advisor of Hanbeophyeop, and the current Legal Affairs Director of the Seoul Association, who is the current Hanbeophyeop president, each had their additional expense limits beyond their 5 million KRW monthly salary increased by 66%, from 3 million KRW to 5 million KRW per month.

The current Seoul Association Deputy Secretary-General and Treasurer, both directors of Hanbeophyeop, each had their additional expense limits beyond their 3 million KRW monthly salary increased by 66%, from 3 million KRW to 5 million KRW per month.

The Korean Bar Association Election Commission requested the deletion or modification of these contents in candidate Ahn's first leaflet and pressured Ahn's side by threatening not to distribute the entire leaflet if the content was not deleted by the deadline set by the commission. Eventually, the page containing the content was sent with the text blacked out.

However, the court, which reviewed the injunction case filed by Ahn's side, ruled that the Election Commission's action violated Ahn's political freedom of expression, freedom of election campaigning, and the right of Korean Bar Association member lawyers to know, exceeding the commission's authority. The court ordered that the previously undistributed leaflet be sent together with the second leaflet.

Regarding the purpose of holding this rally, Seogwonmo stated, "Recently, there was an allegation of preferential hiring of acquaintances by a Seoul Association staff member for the executive team, and despite numerous allegations such as salary increases and self-establishment for current executive members, the executive team has been quietly praising itself for re-election. We have taken collective action to condemn this and urge follow-up procedures."

A lawyer who participated in the event said, "Since the first Seoul Association leader came from the Hanbeophyeop president, I expected not only good work but also the most honest management of affairs. However, the recent issues of salary establishment and increases for the Seoul Association president and executives, as well as allowance increases, have been reported in all media, and various suspicions have emerged, which is heartbreaking as a lawyer and member."

Meanwhile, regarding Seogwonmo's demand for explanations, a Seoul Association official stated, "The Seoul Association has undergone thorough audits every quarter since the past, and the 4th quarter audit for 2022 was conducted on December 29 last year. This audit was conducted by two auditors who carefully examined each director and item in detail under the heightened election atmosphere, comparing expenditure details with those of previous executive teams to check appropriateness. The audit found no issues."

The official added, "The Seoul Association deeply regrets the old-fashioned tactics of a specific camp trying to turn the election into a negative campaign and sincerely hopes that this election will be a fair one focused on policies rather than a slanderous election using distorted facts."

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