변호사의 자격등록과 등록거부 제도에 관한 고찰 - 서울고등법원 2016. 10. 29. 선고 2016나2013008 판결 - = A Study of the System of the Registration of Qualifications and Denial of Registration of an Attorney-at-law

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Any attorney-at-law who intends to establish a legal practice shall register his/her name with the Korean Bar Association. The Attorney-at-law Act requires the registration of qualification and report of practices at the same time. As a result, an attorney-at-law who has practiced law as an attorney-at-law without registering himself with the Korean Bar Association shall be punished by Criminal Act. But an attorney-at-law shall not be allowed to practice law only after the registration of qualification without the report of practices. Even if an attorney-at-law filed an application for registration, the registration can be denied with certain reasons. The Korean Bar Association may deny his/her registration going through resolution by the Registration Review Committee if the applicant falls into the denial of registration category.
The plaintiff raised an objection to the Minister of Justice after his registration was denied by the Korean Bar Association. However, the Minister of Justice dismissed his formal objection. Any person whose registration is denied may raise an objection, clarifying the reason why the denial of registration is unjust, to the Minister of Justice within three months from the date on which a notice referred. So the plaintiff denied his guilt based on the Administrative Appeals Act and Administrative Litigation Act, yet his request of the Lawsuit for Confirmation of a member of the local bar association through a civil suit was denied.
A person's registration can be denied when he/she deemed clearly inappropriate to conduct the duties of an attorney-at-law due to the fact that he/she has been subject to criminal prosecution (excluding cases of being prosecuted for a negligent crime) or disciplinary action (excluding removal, dismissal, or discharge from office) due to unlawful conduct while working as a public official or has retired from office related to an unlawful conduct.
In the case of the plaintiff, his registration was denied because of the fact that he has been subject to criminal prosecution due to his unlawful conduct while working as a public official. Since then, the updated Attorney-at-Law Act includes a new provision stating In such cases, when the registration is denied on the ground that the person falls under subparagraph 4, the Korean Bar Association shall determine a registration prohibition period of at least one year and up to two years after going through resolution by the Registration Review Committee pursuant to Article 9.
The adjudication concluded that the plaintiff is inappropriate to conduct the duties of an attorney-at-law due to the fact that he has been subject to criminal prosecution while working as a public official. The decision made by adjudication seems to be fair considering the reason for denial of registration based on the Attorney-at-Law Act.