Kwon Seong-dong, a former lawmaker of the People Power Party, has had his lawyer registration canceled following a confirmed prison sentence for receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church.
According to Yonhap News on August 21, the Korean Bar Association recently canceled Kwon's lawyer registration. This action follows a directive from the Ministry of Justice, which communicated the cancellation order to the Bar Association on August 14.
Under the Lawyer Act, individuals registered as lawyers who receive a prison sentence of more than one year are disqualified from practicing law. In such cases, the Minister of Justice is required to order the cancellation of their registration.
Kwon was indicted for allegedly accepting 100 million won from Yoon Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church, in exchange for lobbying the Yoon Suk-yeol administration for support of the church. The Supreme Court upheld a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 100 million won against Kwon on July 16.
As a result, Kwon also lost his position as a member of the National Assembly. The Public Official Election Act stipulates that a lawmaker loses their seat if they are convicted of violating political fund laws and receive a fine of over 1 million won.
Kwon passed the bar exam in 1985 and worked as a prosecutor before opening a law practice in 2006. He served as the legal secretary to the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2009 and entered politics after being elected in a by-election in 2010.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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