No Lawyer Stands Aloof From Money

It has been revealed that some lawyers have accepted an appointment at a detention cell, making use of their prisoner interviewing rights. They also have taken the role of a “steward,” who even manages the properties of the prisoners and provides cigarettes and cellular phones during the interview.

The Third Department of Special Cases, Seoul branch office of the prosecutors, on October 27, stated that it has disclosed 30 corrupted judicial criminals, putting 15 people (including 3 lawyers) under restraint, with the other 15 people under indictment.

Various Phases of Lawyer Corruption: The most common judicial corruption case is the accepting of an appointment, which gives mediation fees to professional agents. One lawyer has accepted 142 cases, $840,000 worth and gave $250,000 dollars to five agents from January 2000 to June 2003. He was sentenced to jail for a year.

Another lawyer received 20 percent of tendering transaction fee, worth $13,000, lending his nominal rights to the agents of the tender, in order to accept the auction cases.

Another lawyer visited the prisoner, who served sentence time under a suspicion of fraud against the law of aggravated economy crimes, saying that, “I will bail you out in 10 days and have you placed under light punishment with a fine,” inducing him to hand the lawyer $41,000. The lawyer packed in $125,000 total from him.

A lawyer, who used to be a chief judge, asked for $80,000, asserting that it is highly necessary for this money for the inspection team. An agent, who employed the fresh lawyer who just graduated from the Judicial Training Institute, gave a monthly payment of $4,000.

“Steward Lawyer”: Regardless of defending the prisoner or not, it was revealed during the prosecutor’s inspection that there are lawyers who were employed only to interview prisoners. Only attending an interview two or three times a week, they received $1,600-2,500 a month.

Lawyer A has interviewed a prisoner named Ahn, locked up in detention cell, more than 100 times a year since April, 2002. Lawyer B has taken care of the real estate property of Kim Young-jun, who was locked up as a complicity of “Lee Yong-ho Gate.” He also gave him a cellular phone during the interview, enabling him to ring up his stock manager to handle his property.

The prisoners have gone through interviews twice, in the morning and afternoon, to duck away from the public service, hiding away in the interview room all day. They also tried to check on the alibi of each suspects, in order to prepare the inspection of the prosecutors and the trial. Some lawyers make use of the fact that there are no limits in the amount of interviews, putting in for 30 prisoners when they hand in the application, in order to get an appointment from the prisoners.

According to the lawyer circles, around Seoul Detention House, there are 20 “steward lawyers” who center on the interview appointments as their main works.

“Cotton Stick” punishment: The prosecutors requested four pieces of arrest warrant, among the seven lawyers picked up as suspects. Three lawyers were indicted, but two were freed and only one still remains in custody. According to this measure, people have stirred up a complaint against the court that they are too lenient to the lawyers.

The warrant for the lawyer who gave $84,000 was turned down. The lawyer, who gave $250,000 dollars to the agents, was freed at the suitability trial but was sentenced to one year sentence at the first trial. The lawyer who gave $30,000 to the agents was indicted but was soon bailed out.

In addition, providing a cellular phone and a cigarette to a prisoner is prohibited. But since there is no regulation to keep it down entirely, it was revealed that the illegal behavior of the lawyers can not be held up.

Jin-Young Hwang buddy@donga.com