* The original article can be found here.
[World Times = Lee Pan-seok reporter] Kim Do-hyung, a professor in the Mathematics Department at Dankook University and an active anti-JMS activist, has been reported to the police for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. He allegedly represented and signed a settlement agreement between Jung Myung-seok (78), the leader of the Christian Gospel Mission (commonly known as JMS), and the victims, without having a lawyer’s license.
On the 4th of last month, Attorney K, representing the 10 complainants, visited the Danwon District Police Station in Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, to file a complaint against Mr. Kim Do-hyung. Subsequently, it was revealed that two representatives of the complainants were investigated by the police on the 19th of last month.
According to Mr. A, the representative of the complainants, “Kim Do-hyung, who is not a lawyer, represented two anonymous women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Jung Myung-seok. He negotiated a settlement of 600 million won with Attorney Y, a former representative of the Christian Gospel Mission and former lawyer of Jung Myung-seok, and acquired the money.” He further stated, “As a non-attorney, promising to provide money to a third party and mediating a reconciliation in a lawsuit is an act that violates the Attorney-at-Law Act.”
Kim Do-hyung has claimed that he was acting “to help the victims of JMS,” but legal experts analyze this as a typical violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act.
Under current law, mediating or representing a criminal case settlement without a lawyer’s license constitutes a violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, and is subject to punishment of imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Legal experts have stated, “It will be difficult for Kim Do-hyung to avoid suspicion of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act, considering the facts revealed in his post on the JMS defectors’ community forum on November 6th. It was disclosed that Law Firm Bom received the settlement money and transferred it to the personal accounts of the victims. Additionally, the fact that the settlement amount was increased by 100 million won each, unrelated to the complainants and simply because Mr. Kim was slandered, also points to a potential violation.” They also raised suspicions saying, “Given that he received assistance from his wife, who is a practicing lawyer, and considering Mr. Kim’s legal proficiency, it is unlikely that he was unaware of these basic facts.”
Furthermore, legal experts emphasized the importance of verifying whether the actual settlement amount of 600 million won was fully transferred to the two victims. They advised that an investigation should also be conducted into the records of the settlement money being deposited into the victims’ bank accounts on the day the agreement was signed.
Since 1999, Kim Do-hyung has been inducing women who left JMS to file sexual assault charges against Jung Myung-seok. He has continued his anti-JMS activities by acting as a representative for the complainants, negotiating and receiving settlement money from representatives of the JMS Headquarters.
Last year, Kim Do-hyung filed a defamation lawsuit against a YouTuber who claimed he was a “nine-time convicted offender,” and he “slandered Jung Myung-seok, demanding money even after writing letters of repentance and handwritten apologies.” However, with the revelation that even his methods of helping JMS victims were illegal, there is growing criticism and skepticism about the authenticity of Mr. Kim’s actions over the years.
It appears that all the settlement cases represented by Kim Do-hyung will also be subject to additional charges for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.
[Copyright ⓒ World Times]
