hankyoreh

Nov. 5. (Yonhap News)

Prosecutors have requested disciplinary action from the Korean Bar Association against seven attorneys with the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society.

MINBYUN denounced as the move as “not just politicized, but a return to the days of the Yushin government” - a reference to the Park Chung-hee dictatorship of 1972-1980.

The public criminal investigation division of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office, under chief prosecutor Kim Dong-joo, announced on Nov. 5 that it had filed a request in late October for disciplinary action against attorneys Kwon Yeong-gook, Lee Deok-woo, Kim Yoo-jeong, Song Yeong-seop, and Kim Tae-wook. The five attorneys in question were indicted without detention on charges of obstruction of official duties for allegedly scuffling with police at a demonstration.

Additional requests were filed against Kim In-sook for allegedly urging a defendant to exercise the right to remain silent after an arrest for participating in a demonstration related to April’s Sewol ferry tragedy, and against Jang Kyung-wook for allegedly attempting to persuade an espionage case defendant to give false testimony.

Prosecutors called the requests legitimate, citing a provision in the Attorney-at-Law Act reading, “Local prosecuting office chiefs must file a request with the head of the Korean Bar Association to initiate disciplinary action against attorneys when grounds for doing so are discovered during a criminal investigation or other execution of prosecutorial duties.”

“Attorneys have an obligation not to conceal the truth while executing their duties,” explained Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office second vice director Yoon Woong-geol.

“While two of the cases [those involving Kim In-sook and Jang Kyung-wook] do not involve prosecutable offenses, we requested the disciplinary action because we believe that at the very least, they violated the obligation to uphold dignity and the truth as attorneys,” Yoon added.

The request was seen as unusual in light of the number of previous KBA requests by prosecutors and estimates on the number and type of criminal actions by attorneys. In 2011, a total of 375 attorneys were booked for criminal offenses. The number rose to 544 in 2012 and 566 in 2013. Over the same period, prosecutors made 45 disciplinary action requests in 2011, 21 in 2012, and 25 in 2013.

The numbers have led some to read the latest request as a targeted move against MINBYUN, which has butted heads with prosecutors repeatedly in high-profile public security cases. Previously, prosecutors were left on the defensive with successive not-guilty rulings in espionage cases involving a Seoul city official and an alleged North Korean Defense Security Command plant. Both times, MINBYUN handled the defense. Jang served as counsel in both cases, while Kim In-sook served on the defense in the plant case.

“The reason prosecutors were given the right to request disciplinary action against attorneys as one of the parties to criminal cases was in the hopes that they would represent the common interest,” explained a former high-ranking judge, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The grounds for this disciplinary request constituted ordinary defense activities, which raises serious questions about whether [the prosecutors] are truly speaking for the interest of society as a whole,” the judge added.

MINBYUN organized a press conference in front of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office complex in Seoul’s Seocho neighborhood to respond to the news.

“The prosecutors’ arbitrary request for disciplinary action is a grievous violation of the constitutional rights of attorneys and their clients - the kind of image that was familiar to us in the Yushin era,” MINBYUN said.

It went on to call for a “halt to the public security suppression attempts against MINBYUN.”

Following the indictment, Kwon Yeong-gook, one of the attorneys in the request, said he had been “subjected to retaliatory prosecution for defending basic rights and upholding democracy at the scene of a demonstration.”

“Now I’m on the receiving end of a highly irregular disciplinary action request,” he continued. “It’s a fight that immoral authorities have picked with MINBYUN for defending democracy and human rights.”

If the KBA chief does decide to hold disciplinary proceedings, the next step is an investigative committee examination and a hearing by the disciplinary committee. If he refuses, the prosecutors may lodge an objection, in which case the Ministry of Justice would hold a meeting of its own disciplinary committee.

By Noh Hyun-woong and Kim Seon-sik, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]