1. Case Overview

A medical corporation entered into a lease agreement with Company X for the convenience store at its hospital funeral home and subsequently procured boiled meat from X. Later, the medical corporation changed its supplier and notified X of the termination of the lease upon its expiration.

In response, X filed a complaint for violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust) against the chairman of the medical corporation, four administrative staff members, and three funeral home managers, claiming that they colluded to engage in double leasing for the convenience store, misappropriating lease profits and portions of the boiled meat sales proceeds for personal use to cause financial harm to the medical corporation. X also separately accused Funeral Team Manager B of extortion.

Following an initial investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes Division of the regional police agency, four administrative staff members and managers were forwarded to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.

2. Our Arguments and Role

We conducted an exhaustive analysis of the facts and legal framework, identifying that the charges of breach of trust were not substantiated. We actively advocated for the accused individuals through multiple engagements with both the police and prosecution, ultimately securing a dismissal of all charges.

Key points of our defense included:
(1) The payments received from X were funds owned by X, not the medical corporation.
(2) The defendants used these funds for operational purposes at X's request, without deriving any personal benefit.
(3) The defendants' proactive efforts in business activities benefited both the medical corporation and X.
(4) The defendants acted in good faith with the intent to advance the interests of the medical corporation, negating any intent of unlawful gain.

Barun presented a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the lease agreement and the authorization of boiled meat sales rights, effectively demonstrating the lack of criminal intent or personal enrichment by the accused.

3. Outcome and Significance

Given that monetary transactions had occurred and some individuals had been initially forwarded for prosecution, the risk of indictment was significant. However, through our expert defense and proactive strategy, the police reversed their original recommendation, issuing a "no charges" decision. The prosecution concurred by returning the case records, affirming the police's conclusion.

By choosing us as their attorney, the medical corporation was able to avoid the potential reputational and operational fallout of prolonged legal proceedings for its executives and staff.

- Attorneys involved: Cho Jae-bin, Han Min-guk and Kang Min-jae