Legal Repercussions Mount as Victim’s Family Appeals High Court Ruling
In a significant legal development, the family of a victim of school violence has filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking a review of a recent high court decision. The ruling mandates that attorney Kwon Gyeong-ae must pay 65 million won to the victim’s family. This appeal follows a prior judgment where the attorney was found liable due to non-appearance in court proceedings, leading to an unfavorable outcome for her client.
The legal dispute stems from a case involving the late Park Ju-won, who suffered greatly from school bullying. The family’s representatives argue that the portion of the Supreme Court’s ruling that acknowledged the victim’s suffering should be nullified. This is because, they contend, it infringes upon their right to seek damages.
Previously, the Supreme Court had confirmed a lower court’s decision ordering Kwon and her law firm to pay 65 million won in damages to the victim’s family. Additionally, the law firm was ordered to return 2.2 million won in legal fees. However, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Seoul Central District Court for reconsideration of the 90 million won previously agreed upon between Kwon and the victim’s family, stating that this amount did not need to be paid.
Grounds for Appeal and Allegations of Legal Misinterpretation
The victim’s legal representatives have presented seven grounds for appeal to the Supreme Court. They argue that the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss six of their seven appeal points, excluding the part concerning the payment of the 90 million won, demonstrates a misinterpretation of legal principles and violates logical reasoning and established practices. They assert that the court’s failure to provide detailed reasoning for dismissing these points constitutes a breach of its obligation to explain its rulings.
The petition further elaborates that attorney Kwon’s repeated failure to appear in court, including missing the deadline for her closing arguments, directly led to the infringement of their right to seek damages. Having sought legal recourse again to obtain justice, they claim they have been denied a fair judgment based on valid arguments and have once again faced an infringement of their right to seek compensation.
Background of the Case
The victim, the late Park Ju-won, passed away in 2015. His family subsequently filed a lawsuit seeking 500 million won in damages from the perpetrators. Attorney Kwon Gyeong-ae represented the victim’s family in this case. While the initial ruling saw partial success for the family, attorney Kwon’s failure to appear for three consecutive court dates in the second trial (September-November of the following year) resulted in the case being dismissed. Civil procedure law stipulates that if a party fails to appear for more than three hearings, the lawsuit is considered withdrawn.
Following this dismissal, attorney Kwon allegedly did not inform the victim’s family of the outcome for five months. Furthermore, she missed the deadline for filing an appeal to the Supreme Court, leading to the finalization of the initial ruling. In 2023, the victim’s family filed a separate lawsuit against attorney Kwon seeking damages for the losses incurred.
