Josun Yeol and Park Byungcheol, Candidates for Seoul Bar Association President, "Candidate Park Jongheun Must Explain Law & Good CEO's Election Interference"

On the 22nd, when early voting for the 98th Seoul Bar Association president election was underway, candidate number 3, Jo Sun-yeol, officially demanded an explanation from candidate number 1, Park Jong-heun, who is receiving support from a private company, alleging that "a private company is interfering in the election."

From the left, Jo Sun-yeol, candidate for the 98th President of the Seoul Bar Association, and Kim Jung-wook, the elected 53rd President of the Korean Bar Association. Kim Jung-wook's Facebook

On the same day in the afternoon, Jo posted on his Facebook under the title <"Condemning the unfair interference of external forces in the Seoul Bar Association president election">, stating, "Min, the CEO of the legal platform Law&Good, declared official support for candidate Park Jong-heun through the 'Legal Forum,' which he personally said he 'created' on the 22nd. At the same time, he sent text messages to an unspecified number of lawyers appealing to 'give one vote to candidate Park.'" Along with this, he posted a photo presumed to be a screenshot of a KakaoTalk message sent by Min Myung-gi, CEO of Law&Good.

Jo said, "Suspicions have arisen that a private company has interfered in the Seoul Bar Association president election," and demanded that Park Jong-heun provide an official statement.

The screenshot of the message posted by Jo included content such as "The Legal Forum strongly supports candidate number 1, Park Jong-heun, for Seoul Bar Association president," "Please make sure to vote at a nearby polling station today," and "A link to check the polling station location is attached for your reference."

Jo stated, "The election interference by Min, CEO of the legal platform Law&Good, who is not a lawyer, is an act that undermines the independence and integrity of the Seoul Bar Association," adding, "The attempt by a private company to intervene and influence the election for the president of the Seoul Bar Association, a bastion of justice and ethics, is an illegal act that damages the foundation of the legal system."

He also said, "The election interference by the legal platform threatens the autonomy of the Bar Association and can lower public trust in the entire legal community," emphasizing, "The Seoul Bar Association must be free from any unfair influence or interference by private companies."

Jo added, "Min, CEO of Law&Good, has openly stated in media interviews that he created the Legal Forum to expand the legal market," and said, "Both Law&Good and the Legal Forum, as well as candidate Park Jong-heun who receives their support, must directly explain their involvement in the Seoul Bar Association election through the Legal Forum."

He continued, "I will take the lead in protecting the independence of the Seoul Bar Association from repeated attempts by private companies to interfere in the election, investigate the truth about the election interference, and hold those responsible legally accountable," demanding, "Law&Good, the Legal Forum, and candidate Park Jong-heun must reveal the truth and apologize to the lawyers belonging to the Seoul Bar Association."

Candidate Jo Sun-yeol submitting a complaint to the police against Min Myung-gi, CEO of Law&Good, last September.

Last September, when Jo was the vice president of the Seoul Bar Association, he filed a police complaint against CEO Min for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. The complaint was based on the fact that Min distributed a booklet titled '2024 Legal Market Report' while representing himself as a lawyer, although his lawyer registration had been canceled at the time, meaning he was not qualified as a lawyer.

Min was sentenced to eight months in prison with a two-year probation after being found guilty of receiving approximately 120 million KRW in youth employment subsidies from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by falsely reporting that young workers hired by Law&Good between 2020 and 2021 worked five days a week and were paid 2 million KRW, while in reality, they worked only one day a week and were paid 400,000 KRW. Subsequently, his lawyer registration was canceled under the Attorney-at-Law Act.

Regarding this issue, candidate number 2, Park Byung-chul, who had a dispute with CEO Min last September, also posted on his Facebook on the same day a statement titled 'Condemning the unfair interference of external forces in the Seoul Bar Association president election' along with a photo of a message sent by CEO Min.

Park said, "Min Myung-gi of the legal platform Law&Good sent text messages to lawyers on the 22nd, during early voting for the 98th Seoul Bar Association executive election, under the name of the 'Legal Forum,' which he leads, asking them to support candidate number 1, Park Jong-heun, and a specific auditor candidate," adding, "Min Myung-gi is a non-lawyer whose lawyer qualification was revoked by the Ministry of Justice due to a conviction for attempted fraud and other charges, and therefore has no right to run for office or vote. Nevertheless, I express deep concern over his blatant interference in the Bar Association election and urge him to immediately withdraw his involvement."

Park also urged, "both Min Myung-gi of Law&Good and candidate number 1, Park Jong-heun, who received their support, to apologize and provide a satisfactory explanation to the members," and added, "Furthermore, I demand that the Seoul Bar Association Election Commission establish measures to prevent recurrence so that such external interference in elections never happens again."

The candidates for the 98th Seoul Bar Association president election are ▲candidate number 1, Park Jong-heun, representative lawyer of Shinwoo Law Firm (Judicial Examination 41st) ▲candidate number 2, Park Byung-chul, representative lawyer of Royal Law Firm (Bar Examination 6th) ▲candidate number 3, Jo Sun-yeol, representative lawyer of Munmu Law Firm (Judicial Examination 43rd). Among them, candidate Jo ran in this election as a running mate of Kim Jung-wook, who was elected as the next Bar Association president on the 20th.

The main voting for the Seoul Bar Association president election will be held on the 24th.

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