Questions loom over opposition candidate`s legal career

The presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party has had a longer career as a lawyer than a politician.

Moon Jae-in opened a law firm with the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in 1982 and made his name as a human rights and labor lawyer in South Gyeongsang Province and Busan. He grew in fame as a politician because he was an independent and non-political lawyer known for taking on tough cases for the general public.

○ Career as a corporate lawyer

Moon was a corporate attorney for Poongsan Metal, a company known for its workers forming unions in the 1980s. From 1989 to 1990, police arrested workers in Poongsan`s Angang and Dongrae plants for forming unions. The workers were later fired for their labor activities.

In 2007, a committee on restoring reputations and compensating people who took part in previous democratization movements recognized 31 laid-off Poongsan workers as those participating in such movements, but they have yet to return to work.

Lee Jeong-ho, a member of a public union, said in an April 2008 article carried by the liberal left-wing online media outlet Newscham that Moon represented Poongsan in 1990 when Dongrae plant workers went on strike.

In a labor assembly immediately following police repression of the plant in September 1990, Moon told Jeong Eui-hyeon, then chief of the Federation of Korean Metal Workers Union, "Lawyer Roh Moo-hyun is Poongsan`s corporate attorney and I have no option but to be its attorney. I hope you understand." Jeong, however, told The Dong-A Ilbo Monday, "I don`t remember. It was 20 years ago."

In response, pro-Moon forces said that when the law firm signed a contract with Poongsan, one precondition was that the law firm would not engage in a lawsuit against workers, adding that Moon was a corporate lawyer but never defended the company against workers.

On Moon`s conversation with Jeong, one source who backed the presidential candidate said, "He said this because he was sorry for being unable to defend the workers since he was an adviser to Poongsan Metal."

○ Law firm sees sales jump three-fold under Roh administration

Moon was the leading lawyer for the law firm "Busan" until the April general elections this year. After Roh entered politics in 1998, Moon worked in partnership with lawyer Jeong Jae-seong, the son-in-law of Roh`s sister, and established the law firm in 1995.

Moon was key lawyer of this firm for 17 years excluding the five years when Roh was president. When public officials declared their assets and properties in 2003, Moon owned 25 percent of the firm, but in 2004, he said he had transferred all of the properties.

Under the Roh administration, the firm`s revenue tripled in volume. This fueled criticism of favoritism toward Moon, who was turning into a political heavyweight. According to Rep. Lee Jong-hyuk of the ruling Saenuri Party, the firm`s annual sales shot up from 1.35 billion won (1.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2002 to 4.1 billion won (3.7 million dollars) in 2005. Moon served as presidential secretary for civil affairs in February 2003.

In 2005, the law firm ranked second in the country in acceptance of cases. After Roh stepped down as president four years later, sales plunged to 1.43 billion won (1.28 million dollars), returning to the level before Roh took office.

Lawyer Jeong said Monday, "Moon wasn`t a member of the law firm while he was working at the presidential office. I don`t understand what he has to do with the sales increase."

○ Law firm signs advisory contracts with state-run companies in 2007

On Feb. 16, 2007, when Moon was special state affairs advisor for Roh, Lawtimes reported that the law firm signed advisory contracts with Korea Land and Housing Corp., Moohak, SK, POSCO E&C, Korea Investment & Securities, Korea Exchange, Busan City Gas and KT Submarine. State-owned companies are under the direct influence of the government, as are large corporations.

Since Moon was a political heavyweight, criticism is rising that these companies were pressured to sign contracts with the law firm.

Jeong said, "Many companies signed advisory contracts with the law firm before the Roh administration was launched. It`s improper to make an issue out of the firm`s fair activities."

The main opposition party is criticizing lawyer Seo Yang-hee, the sister-in-law of the ruling party`s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye who has handled legal affairs for Korea Land & Housing Corp. since 2010.

The law firm cannot escape criticism unless the main opposition party drops its claim against Seo. The party claims that Seo expanded her influence over state-owned companies by taking advantage of Park`s position.

Yet another suspicion is that Moon in 2003 phoned Yoo Byeong-tae, then a non-banking attorney for the Financial Supervisory Service, while working as presidential secretary for civil affairs to ask for the "cautious handling" of the fate of the troubled Busan Mutual Savings Bank. Many considered this a request for preferential treatment in the government process of weeding out troubled savings banks.

Former Saenuri Rep. Lee Jong-hyuk in March claimed that the law firm took 5.9 billion won (5.26 million dollars) worth of cases from the Busan Mutual Savings Bank between 2004 and 2007, saying the phone call was the result of the lobbying.

In response, the law firm "Busan" said it accepted civil suits on disposing of the bad debts of savings banks amounting to 100,000 (89.25 dollars) to 200,000 won (178.5 dollars), and proposed splitting the cases due to its huge amount. Sales did not largely lead to income, it said.

The firm also unsuccessfully sued Lee for defamation with a Busan court. Yoo Byeong-tae, a former director of the Financial Supervisory Service, said in testimony, "I got a call from Moon but never considered it a request or felt pressured."

○ Moon defended Seo Cheong-won who got nomination donation

At the end of 2008, Moon joined forces with Seo Cheong-won, former chief of the pro-Park alliance who was later prosecuted on the charge of taking a nomination donation. In response, Moon said, "Lawyers violate laws governing them if they reject a case without a valid reason."

Called the "mecca of human rights defense," the law firm with Moon onboard also helped get ruled as unconstitutional heavy acquisition taxes on karaoke bars. Jeong said, "We took the case because of the possibility of it being unconstitutional. Bar managers have human rights."