Supreme Court Confirms End of Damages Suit by Bullying Victim's Family Over 'Attorney Kwon Gyeongae's No-Show'

School Bullying Lawsuit Marred by Lawyer's No-Show
Appeal Filed, but Dismissed Without Further Review

The family of a school bullying victim who lost a lawsuit after her lawyer failed to appear in court and the appeal was deemed withdrawn filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, but it was also rejected.

The Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Kim Seong-su, on October 30 upheld the lower court's declaration that the lawsuit had ended, dismissing the appeal without further review. A dismissal without further review is a procedure in which the Supreme Court rejects an appeal without conducting a full hearing, finding no legal error in the second-instance ruling in cases other than criminal cases.

After Park Juwon, who had suffered school bullying, took her own life in 2015, her mother, Lee Gicheol, filed a damages lawsuit against the perpetrators the following year, in 2016. The first-instance court granted the claim only against one parent who had failed to appear at trial and dismissed the remaining claims.

Lee's side appealed, but her attorney, Kwon Gyeong-ae, failed to appear at three consecutive hearings in the appeal trial in 2022. Under the Civil Procedure Act, the appeal was therefore deemed withdrawn, and Lee lost the case in its entirety. Because Lee did not know that she had lost, she was unable to appeal to the Supreme Court, leaving her family unable to contest the case in the second instance and effectively having their appeal withdrawn.

In response to objections from Lee's side, the appellate court held an additional hearing in May this year, even though the appeal had not been declared closed. However, it rejected the request to resume the trial and declared the lawsuit ended about a month later.

The court concluded that while Attorney Kwon had breached her duty of care as a prudent manager, the effect of the appeal being deemed withdrawn could not be set aside. Lee's side appealed, but the Supreme Court on October 30 dismissed the appeal without further review, upholding the end of the lawsuit.

Separately, Lee pursued a damages and consolation-money lawsuit against Attorney Kwon in connection with the case, and in May the Supreme Court issued a final ruling ordering Kwon to pay 65 million won in consolation money. The Supreme Court also ruled that an "undertaking" in which Kwon belatedly informed Lee that she had lost the lawsuit and promised to pay 90 million won was valid, and remanded that part of the case for further proceedings, in a ruling favorable to Lee. The court is scheduled to issue its decision on November 25.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.