Spouse of former judge says he never handled sex crime cases after joining law firm
Lawmaker cites firm's own ads, staff responses as evidence; demands direct explanation
Calls on Korean Bar Association to investigate and discipline
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-a has pushed back against claims of false reporting by the camp of former judge Lee Tae-su, who drew controversy for advertising himself as a sex crime specialist attorney after previously handing down a reduced sentence to child sex offender Jo Doo-soon.
After Lee's spouse, attorney Cho Hyun-wook, said Lee had "not consulted on or taken a single sex crime case" since joining a law firm in March 2025, Kim said the claim contradicted the firm's own advertisements and demanded that Lee personally explain himself.
Kim posted on Facebook on Sunday, saying her office had "simply publicized an advertisement the law firm itself put up," directly rebuffing the claims made by Lee's side.
Earlier, Kim's office had issued a press release on Oct. 16 saying that Lee — who presided over the first trial of the 2009 Jo Doo-soon case — had joined law firm Ohyeon after retiring from the bench and was promoting himself as a sex crime specialist attorney, advertising reduced sentences in illegal filming cases, suspended sentences in sexual violence cases and leniency in prostitution cases as success stories.
In response, Cho posted publicly on her own Facebook page, asking Kim directly: "Does being a National Assembly member give you the right to spread false information?" She said Lee had not consulted on or accepted a single sex crime case since joining the firm in March 2025.
Cho said Kim's office already had access to the case intake records registered with the bar association and therefore knew this to be true, asking, "So is it acceptable to conduct a witch hunt based on obvious falsehoods?" She also claimed that most of the news outlets that had covered the story deleted their articles after confirming the information was false.
Kim fired back, citing Lee's attorney profile that had been posted on the Ohyeon website. Materials presented by her office showed specific case outcomes listed under a section titled "Success Cases by Practice Area," including a fine in an illegal filming charge, a suspended sentence for a violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, and a suspended sentence in a prostitution case. A separate document, under the heading "Sex Crime Practice Success Cases," listed multiple outcomes including an acquittal on a charge of rape causing bodily injury, a suspended sentence for arranging prostitution, and a non-indictment disposition on a charge of indecent assault.
Kim said Ohyeon's sex crime center had introduced Lee as the "chief supervising attorney for child sex crime cases" and had posted reduced-sentence rulings and similar outcomes in related cases as success stories.
"Before the story ran, our office called the firm's official consultation line to verify this," Kim said. "At the time, a firm employee said: 'Attorney Lee Tae-su is indeed a sex crime specialist,' 'The success cases on the website are rulings Attorney Lee Tae-su personally secured,' and 'His fees are higher than other attorneys.'"
"If that is the case, did Attorney Lee Tae-su recruit clients by listing cases he never handled as his own success stories?" Kim said. "If Attorney Cho Hyun-wook's account is true, then he lied to the public."
The two sides also offered conflicting accounts of why the news articles were removed. Cho said the articles were deleted after their contents were confirmed to be false, while Kim said the deletions came after Cho repeatedly pressed outlets to take them down.
Kim said Cho had repeatedly contacted the reporters who covered the story, telling them they would "have to take legal responsibility," and had also reached out to her office by phone and email more than a dozen times. Kim added that Cho had even contacted the office of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair and demanded the personal phone numbers of her staff.
"Screenshots and recordings of both the law firm's advertising copy and the staff member's responses are on file," Kim warned. "If our legislative activities are obstructed again, we will pursue legal action, including criminal liability for obstruction of business, intimidation and defamation."
Kim called on Lee to personally disclose when he became aware of the sex crime-related advertisements posted under his name and who was responsible for the cases listed as success stories beneath his profile.
"Attorney Lee Tae-su should stop hiding behind his spouse, Attorney Cho Hyun-wook, and answer directly," Kim said, adding that her office would call on the Korean Bar Association and the relevant regional bar association to conduct a thorough investigation and impose disciplinary measures over the advertisements placed by Ohyeon and Lee.
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