'Trial No-Show' Kwon Kyung-ae "Media Exposure Caused Mental Shock... Family's Compensation Claim Should Be Dismissed"

Request to Dismiss Bereaved Family's Claim for Compensation in Court

Attorney Kwon Kyung-ae, who represented the bereaved family of a school violence victim and repeatedly failed to appear in court, resulting in losses, has requested the court to dismiss the family's claim for compensation, citing 'mental shock.'

According to the Hankyoreh newspaper on the 17th, Kwon's legal representative stated, “We generally acknowledge the facts regarding the plaintiff's right to a trial being infringed due to the deemed withdrawal of the appeal and the right to appeal not being notified following the second trial loss.”

Attorney Kwon Kyung-ae. [Photo by YouTube channel Geum Tae-seop TV]

However, Attorney Kwon also submitted a written response to the Seoul Central District Court requesting the dismissal of the plaintiff's claim, arguing that she too suffered considerable mental shock due to the disclosure of related facts.

Kwon's representative submitted a statement to the court ahead of the second mediation hearing on the 12th for the damages lawsuit filed by the late Park Joo-won's mother, Lee Ki-cheol, against Attorney Kwon.

The response from Kwon's side was submitted to the court at 4:20 p.m. on the day of the second mediation hearing for the damages claim filed by the bereaved family against Attorney Kwon.

Earlier, Lee Ki-cheol (56), mother of the late Park Joo-won (16 at the time of death), filed a damages lawsuit against Attorney Kwon at the Seoul Central District Court, seeking 200 million KRW in total, including 100 million KRW in consolation money, after it became known in April that Kwon had lost the case due to her absence from three court hearings.

In response, Attorney Kwon's side argued that the case was made public through media reports, causing significant mental shock to Kwon as well. The response stated, “While the plaintiff Lee Ki-cheol has suffered considerable mental shock related to the emotional damages, the defendant (Attorney Kwon) has also experienced mental shock due to the plaintiff publicly disclosing facts related to this case in the media, which should be taken into account in the judgment.”

Furthermore, Kwon's side claimed, “Among the damages claimed by the plaintiff, the active damages should be judged based on the degree of the defendant's negligence concerning the total retainer fee of 9 million KRW received from the plaintiff. The amount that could be won in the civil case that was lost is considered passive damages and is difficult to establish causality.”

It is also reported that Kwon's side submitted a written explanation to the Korean Bar Association in May. Kwon cited health reasons for not attending the three court hearings and said she missed the third hearing due to confusing the date. Regarding the delayed notification of the loss to the bereaved family, she responded, “I was waiting for the results of a script I submitted to a drama contest while trying to find a way to resolve financial issues.”

Earlier this year in April, Lee filed a damages lawsuit worth approximately 200 million KRW against Attorney Kwon, her affiliated law firm, and two other lawyers from the same firm. The court referred the case to mediation in July. Attorney Kwon, who had not responded much to the lawsuit, submitted a power of attorney on the day of the first mediation hearing last month.

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