'Insincere Lawyer' Worsens Grievance of School Violence Victim Who Died

Controversy Surrounding Lawyer Kwon Kyung-ae, Co-author of 'Joguk Heukseo'
"Three No-Shows, Not Just Once, Are Unprecedented"

It has been confirmed that Kwon Kyung-ae, a lawyer and co-author of 'Joguk Heukseo,' failed to appear three times at the appellate court hearings in a damages claim lawsuit on behalf of school violence victims, resulting in the plaintiff's loss. While the first trial ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff, the absence of the lawyer led to an absurd loss in the second trial without even contesting the case.

Legal circles have responded that it is an unusual mistake for a lawyer to be absent from court not once but three times.

According to the legal community, the Seoul High Court Civil Division 8-2 (then presided over by Chief Judges Kim Bong-won, Kang Sung-hoon, and Kwon Soon-min) ruled on November 24 last year that the plaintiff lost the damages claim lawsuit filed by Lee Ki-cheol, the mother of the late Park Joo-won.

Attorney Kwon Kyung-ae. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Park, the victim of school violence, took her own life in 2015. In August of the following year, Lee filed a damages claim lawsuit against the education office, the school foundation, the perpetrators, and 38 others. Lawyer Kwon represented the lawsuit.

The first trial court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the parent of the perpetrator student, Mr. A, to pay Lee 500 million won. Lee appealed to hold those who were not recognized as liable responsible, and Mr. A also appealed the damages ruling against him.

However, Lawyer Kwon failed to appear at all three appellate court hearings held on September 22, October 13, and November 10 last year, resulting in Lee's appeal being withdrawn. According to the Civil Procedure Act, if both parties fail to appear three or more times or appear but do not argue, the lawsuit is considered withdrawn.

Furthermore, the court accepted Mr. A's appeal and dismissed Lee's claim (plaintiff lost). Unaware of the loss, Lee did not file a further appeal, making the ruling final, and ultimately, Lee ended up receiving no compensation.

The legal community described this as an unusual mistake. Lawyer Lee said, "There are cases where lawyers do not attend appeals if there is no intention to proceed with the lawsuit for various reasons. However, it is uncommon for a lawyer to miss three hearings in a row when the party is seriously pursuing the appeal and the trial is proceeding normally."

He added, "The Bar Association may impose some disciplinary action, and since this constitutes a serious legal error, if a damages claim is filed, compensation may be recognized."

However, Lawyer Lee speculated, "Since this is a very unusual case, there may have been circumstances such as miscommunication between the lawyer and the client or errors in checking the trial schedule."

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