"Lawyer Ad CPC Rates Still Fixed at 100,000 Won"

Ceiling Remains Despite Guidelines
Ministry of Justice Urges Compliance
Only Compliant Firms Suffer

"The already soaring CPC rates are fixed at the ceiling of 100,000 won."

On May 27, the Ministry of Justice announced the "Guidelines for Operating Lawyer Search Services" (hereinafter referred to as the guidelines), aiming to rein in keyword-based cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. However, the cost of legal keyword ads on major portal sites like Naver remains at its highest level. As excessive competition in advertising expenses continues, the effectiveness of the guidelines was called into question during the National Assembly audit.

Currently, for legal keywords in search ads such as Naver's "Powerlink," the CPC remains at the ceiling of 100,000 won. A representative from a legal advertising agency said, "It is difficult to say that CPC advertising rates have dropped across the legal industry," adding, "They are still set higher than those in the medical sector." A managing attorney of a small to mid-sized law firm in the Seoul metropolitan area also stated, "The already inflated rates remain at the 100,000 won ceiling."

In fact, a small law firm located in Seocho-dong, Seoul, spent more than 200 million to 300 million won per month due to high CPC rates.

This situation appears to stem from the fact that the guidelines are not legally binding. Regarding the scope of application, Naver reportedly stated at a Ministry of Justice briefing in June that its "Powerlink" service does not fall under the "lawyer search services" regulated by the guidelines.

This has also raised concerns about fairness. At the National Assembly audit on October 14, Kim Hankyu, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "Even after the announcement of the guidelines, Naver and Google continue to display ads based on advertising expenditure," adding, "Legal tech startups that comply with the guidelines are being disadvantaged." In response, a Ministry of Justice official said, "We are urging portal companies to comply with the guidelines and are continuously monitoring their compliance."

Seo Hayeon, The Law Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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