Prosecutors Appeal First Trial Sentencing Lawyer to 6 Months Imprisonment for Leaking Trainee KakaoTalk Messages

The prosecution has appealed against a lawyer who was sentenced to six months in prison in the first trial for secretly extracting KakaoTalk conversations between a trainee lawyer and their partner.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office submitted an appeal to the first trial court that sentenced lawyer A (37), who was indicted for violating the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (information and communications network infringement), to six months in prison.

In September of last year, Mr. A used the 'Export Chat' function to send KakaoTalk conversations that trainee lawyer B had with her boyfriend over three months from May to August of the same year to his own mobile phone at a law firm office in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The prosecution stated the reason for the appeal, saying, "Although the defendant, a lawyer, is required to have a high moral sense of duty and ethical awareness, he committed the crime to satisfy personal curiosity. Rather than showing remorse, he made excuses and repeatedly subjected the victim to insulting personal attacks during the trial process, causing secondary harm."

They added, "Considering comprehensively that the victim petitioned for severe punishment, we requested a three-year prison sentence, but since the sentencing result did not meet this, we will seek correction in the appellate trial."

During the first trial, Mr. A claimed, "It was necessary to check the conversation to verify whether the trainee lawyer leaked work-related secrets," but Judge Chae Hee-in of the Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Central District Court rejected Mr. A's claim and sentenced him to imprisonment.

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