"Promise to Reinvestigate Son's Assault Case"... Fake Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Swindling Tens of Millions from Bereaved Family

Man in His Seventies Without Lawyer's License
Pocketed 28.4 Million Won by Promising Case Reinvestigation

A man in his seventies, who approached the bereaved family and received tens of millions of won by promising to reinvestigate a death case despite not having a lawyer's license, has been sentenced to prison.

According to Yonhap News on May 11, Yoo Seungwon, the sole judge of Criminal Division 6 at the Incheon District Court, sentenced Mr. A (age 74), who was indicted on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, to one year and two months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 28.4 million won.

Mr. A was indicted on charges of accepting and pocketing a total of 28.4 million won under the pretense of legal service expenses without a lawyer's license while handling the case of victim Mr. B at a certain criminal justice research institute he operated, from July 2010 to September 2011.

At the time, Mr. B, who had lost his son in an assault case, suspected that the investigation was flawed, believing it was a death caused by group assault, not the work of a single perpetrator as the investigation had concluded. Upon learning of this, Mr. A promised to "reinvestigate the case, identify the real perpetrator, and review a report to the authorities on the problems with the investigation." However, it was revealed that Mr. A subsequently took Mr. B's credit card under the pretense of covering expenses and used it more than 30 times at motels, gas stations, restaurants, and elsewhere, as well as receiving cash.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A had already been indicted on similar charges in 2016 and sentenced to one year and four months in prison. During the trial, Mr. A argued, "High-ranking officials, including judges, released murderers after being bribed," and claimed, "My actions were righteous acts to expose such crimes and help the victim and therefore constitute a 'just act not contrary to social norms' under Article 20 of the Criminal Act." Article 20 of the Criminal Act stipulates that acts performed in accordance with statutes, work, or other acts not contrary to social norms are not punishable.

However, the court pointed out that the defendant's argument was "groundless speculation." It further stated, "The defendant's crime did not meet the requirements for a just act, such as the legitimacy of the motive or purpose, or the appropriateness of the means or method." The court added, "This case clearly shows the dangers that can arise when someone without a lawyer's license is entrusted with legal work," and explained, "The profits the defendant received from the victim were substantial, and there has been no recovery of damages."

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