On the 11th of this month, the Ministry of Justice sent an order to the Korean Bar Association to cancel the registration of lawyer Woo Byung-woo, former chief of civil affairs at the Blue House.
The Bar Association will go through the process of deregistration as soon as it officially receives the order.
Woo was handed over to trial on charges of conducting illegal inspections through the National Intelligence Service during the Park Geun-hye administration and was sentenced to one year in prison by the Supreme Court in September.
The prosecution’s indictment also included charges of aiding state affairs and obstructing the work of special inspector Lee Seok-soo under the direct control of former President Lee Seok-soo, but this part was acquitted by the Supreme Court.
In May of last year, ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling, former chief Woo reported the reopening of the business to the Korean Bar Association.
At that time, the Bar Association accepted the report of former chief Woo, whose sentence was not finalized, but since the Supreme Court found him guilty, it has been debating whether to cancel the registration.
According to the current Attorney’s Law, a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment without prison labor or a heavier punishment and five years have not passed since the completion of the sentence cannot become a lawyer.
