The bereaved family of a school violence victim, who lost a lawsuit due to their attorney's repeated failure to appear in court, has filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court challenging the Supreme Court's partial dismissal of their final appeal.
Attorney Jang Woo of Lee Jae-sung Law Office, the legal representative for Lee Ki-cheol, the mother of the late Park Joo-won, announced Wednesday that the constitutional complaint had been filed. Lee's side argued that the Supreme Court's recent partial dismissal of the appeal infringed upon the claimant's constitutional right to a trial.
On December 29, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that had partially favored Lee in a damages lawsuit against attorney Kwon Kyung-ae and the law firm Haemir, sending the case back to the Seoul Central District Court. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision recognizing consolation money but ruled that the portion concerning Lee's claim for the agreed-upon payment must be reviewed again. However, it dismissed the remaining appeal regarding property damages.
"Rejecting six legal issues of entirely different natures in a single sentence without detailed reasoning amounts to a 'trial without reasoning' and is nothing more than presenting only a conclusion," Lee's side argued. "This violates the essence of the 'right to a fair trial with reasoning' guaranteed by Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution."
"The victim, who had already been deprived of her right to a trial once due to attorney Kwon's irresponsible dereliction of duty in failing to appear at oral hearings, has now fallen into a vicious cycle in which she cannot even hear specific reasoning from the Supreme Court in the very lawsuit meant to rectify that injustice," Lee's side continued. "We ask the Constitutional Court to thoroughly examine the unconstitutionality of the Supreme Court's ruling, both to verify the fairness of judicial decisions and to secure public trust."
Kwon represented Lee in 2016 in a damages lawsuit filed against the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education superintendent and the parents of students who had committed school violence. However, Kwon failed to appear at the appellate trial three consecutive times between September and November 2022, resulting in the loss of the case. Under the Civil Procedure Act, if a party fails to appear in court three or more times, or appears but does not make oral arguments, the lawsuit is deemed withdrawn. Kwon did not inform the bereaved family of the loss for five months, and Lee, unaware of the defeat, was unable to file a final appeal, leading to the ruling becoming final in 2022. When Kwon informed Lee of the loss the following year, she drew up and delivered a written pledge promising to pay 30 million won by the end of each year for three years. Lee then filed a lawsuit seeking 200 million won in damages, arguing that her rights to a trial and to appeal had been violated by Kwon's negligent representation.
Meanwhile, oral arguments in the damages lawsuit over the original school violence case resumed three years and six months after the plaintiff's loss had been finalized. "The previous attorney's failure to appear was very wrong, and we take seriously the sentiment behind the plaintiff's request to submit evidence," the court said. "However, the issue is whether it is appropriate to apply the Civil Procedure Act provisions on deemed withdrawal of appeal to this case, and whether the effect of such deemed withdrawal can be contested." The court set the ruling date for the 24th of this month. If the court rules to declare the litigation terminated as it stands, Lee's side plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
