The First Hearing
On Monday, December 11, rain had been falling since dawn.
As soon as I got off at Goto Station, I headed straight to Ye-ji’s flower shop.
It’s cold. I wonder if the old lady is still out by the stall today.
She always said customers would look around one more time if the owner stayed near the street stand, but on a day when the cold seemed to seep all the way into your bones, she ought to have been beside a heater.
Fortunately, she was inside the shopping arcade.
“Auntie, you’re in here today?”
“It’s cold, isn’t it? Lawyer boy, I roasted these on my way to work—try one.”
It was a sweet baked sweet potato.
I gave her a thumbs-up, telling her once again that her knack for flavor was artistry itself, then studied her face.
She kept saying sweet potatoes were good no matter the variety, but the corners of her mouth drooped as if she had no strength left.
She was worried about whether this really could become a lawsuit, and whether I could win it.
Classic symptoms of a lawsuit-induced existential crisis.
Then, without the slightest regard for her owner’s mood, Auntie’s smartphone rang out with a merciless chirp.
“What on earth are all these KakaoTalk messages this early in the morning….”
After staring at the messages for a long while, her face turned grim.
“Lawyer boy, look at this.”
“……?”
I looked at the screen she handed me.
It was a ridiculous complaint, along with Oh Yoon-ja’s abusive rant.
It had just been filed at Seoul Central District Court.
“They filed before we did?”
“How can people be like this? It’s not like I owed them money!”
“Auntie, calm down.”
I handed her the warm herbal tea Ye-ji’s flower shop kept for days like this.
“This is too much, isn’t it? Ye-ji’s father gave them so much. Whenever they said they were short on money, he lent it to them. If he ran into them, he’d buy them meals. He did everything they asked, and this is how they repay him?”
That was what happened when one side had been established as the complete pushover in the relationship.
Auntie couldn’t bring herself to drink the tea right away; she clutched it in both hands and swallowed her anger instead.
At times like this, when the person beside you looked shameless and unbothered, the ugly feelings burned off more quickly.
My mother was like that too.
“Auntie, do you still not trust Do-hyuk’s Legal Prayer? You saw it with your own eyes just over there.”
“……?”
I spread my hands out to either side, trying to look like some benevolent saint.
“Have you already forgotten? You received the impossible buff and changed.”
“……?!”
“So don’t worry and go roast your back by the heater.”
Auntie, half dazed, burst into laughter after a playful smack to the back.
“Enough hitting me already. Could you show me that KakaoTalk message from Oh Yoon-ja again?”
“Pfft, here.”
Behind the complaint photo, she had even thoughtfully sent the PDF file.
“I’ll download it and take a look.”
With a soft click, I opened it.
In civil cases, there was a principle against filing duplicate complaints.
Even if the details could vary depending on the cause of action and res judicata—the binding force of a final judgment—you still had to be careful when filing.
Wow. They actually sent this and called it a complaint?
At first, I wondered if they were trying to save on attorney’s fees when the land compensation amounted to hundreds of millions of won, not a few million.
They underestimated litigation far too much.
The complaint Oh Yoon-ja had sent was absurd from beginning to end.
It was pure theater—intended only to intimidate.
If you’re going to draft a complaint without hiring a lawyer, at least watch LegalTube or something before you write it. Even scammers don’t spare the expense of a lawyer when they sue.
Then again, a man who thought a gift was too expensive and returned a soap flower he had already received, or a man who bought a recorder with pool money collected from others—there was no way he’d spend serious money on a complaint meant only to threaten someone.
Which, for me, was a good thing.
“Boy, is it serious?”
“The problem is more serious for them than for us.”
“What do you mean?”
A civil complaint had to clearly state the cause of action, the method of proof, and the specific relief sought.
“They left out facts that have to be included in a complaint. It should state the agreement, the payment date, and the amount. That’s what lets the court hear arguments and issue a ruling, but none of that is there. It’s basically a diary.”
There was still resentment in the fact that Oh Yoon-ja had raised Oh Yoon-sik, only for him to betray even sibling loyalty over money.
Still, the court will review the complaint in order.
First, the judge—or a court officer—would examine whether the complaint satisfied the procedural requirements.
Whether the court had jurisdiction, whether the parties were proper, whether they had the capacity to sue, whether the claim had legal benefit.
If the complaint failed those requirements, the court would recommend correction.
In other words, they’d be told to rewrite the required items and file again.
And there’s no legal benefit here either.
The answer was obvious.
“Auntie, the court will issue a correction order for this complaint. They’ll be told to meet the procedural requirements and submit it again.”
If those arrogant siblings behaved as they had so far, there was a high chance they’d refile without bothering to correct the procedural defects.
“Even then, if the requirements still aren’t met, the case will be dismissed outright.”
“……!”
Dismissed outright.
It meant the court would refuse to make a substantive ruling because the formal and procedural requirements established by law had not been met.
“And even if they hired a lawyer and rewrote the complaint, it would probably be a dismissal on the merits. The court would decide the claim isn’t worth dealing with.”
“Th-then what about us? We’re the ones filing too. We’re okay, right?”
“We’re seeking to invalidate the written pledge, so our claim has legal benefit.”
“……?!”
Auntie’s mouth fell open, then she burst into seal-like applause.
As a lawyer, the most exhilarating moment was when the client was satisfied.
“Lawyer boy! If I hadn’t had you, I would’ve been trembling after that KakaoTalk message.”
“Ahem, and there’s another piece of good news.”
“What, there’s something even better than this?”
“Yes. It’s news that guarantees a hundred percent victory.”
“……!”
It wasn’t an empty boast.
“All we have to do is analyze this complaint. It’s a diary, yes, but they’ve basically told us exactly how they plan to fight.”
“My goodness!”
While Auntie bounced in place, thrilled, I sat beside the heater.
I peeled the sweet potato skin.
“Call Oh Yoon-ja and tell her ‘very’ thanks. The emphasis is on ‘very.’”
She would probably snicker and feel pleased with herself on her side, but by the time the hearing started, her face would curdle.
“You brought the recording of the call, right? If you give me your smartphone, I’ll move the file and hand it back.”
“It’s okay. Ye-ji showed me yesterday how to send it by email. This is how you do it, right?”
“Yes. I’ll check it right away.”
If we attach the phone recording as evidence to the complaint, are we done?
On December 22, the last hearing of the year would be held.
December 25 was a public holiday.
And from December 26 to January 5, Seoul Central District Court would be in its winter recess.
“Even if we file today, once the answer and preparatory briefs start going back and forth, the hearing probably won’t be scheduled until at least the end of February next year.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
On Tuesday, January 2, 2024, the new year arrived with the news that Twice, the group Oh Ye-ji belonged to, had entered the Billboard Hot 200.
Just seeing Ye-ji’s KakaoTalk messages makes the whole family feel warm and lively.
The underground shopping arcade was packed with people taking advantage of the New Year holiday rush, but Cha Do-hyuk Legal Office was as quiet as ever.
Apparently with some time on her hands, Auntie came to the office carrying homemade ginger tea.
“Lawyer boy, how’s the case going?”
I opened the e-litigation site and clicked on Oh Yoon-sik’s case.
The complaint was still under review.
“Not yet. Once the court’s recess ends, it’ll change. The court system either finishes everything before recess or pushes it all after. That’s why everyone ends up working overtime then.”
Even if a lawyer already knew the answer, people still felt reassured when it was explained carefully.
“The court’s basically a company, huh. My eldest was like that when she worked in Korea too. Overtime before the holidays.”
“I guess workers are all similar that way.”
Civil servants were not primarily governed by the Labor Standards Act, the general law on labor standards, but by the State Public Officials Act or the Local Public Officials Act.
Still.
“Once the review is done, the court will send a copy of the complaint and the procedural guidance to Oh Yoon-sik’s siblings.”
Then, if their answer came within a month, I could draft the response.
That their side’s version of events was different from the facts.
Then the defendants would send another brief.
To rebut the plaintiff’s position.
After the paperwork went back and forth enough to make anyone sick of it, the hearing would be scheduled.
Then we’d show up in court.
This case is straightforward because it’s certain that Oh Yoon-bok hit Ye-ji, so the documents will only go back and forth once or twice.
“If the facts are complicated, the court also proceeds with a preparatory hearing, but Oh Yoon-sik’s case is simple. One or two hearing dates should be enough. At the latest, it’ll be done before the end of March.”
“That fast?!”
They said the mission would move quickly, after all.
“Then, boy, do we get three judges sitting there? That’s how it is in dramas.”
They probably seat three to make the scene feel full and heighten the tension.
Single-judge bench, three-judge panel.
In reality, the court divides jurisdiction according to the seriousness of the case.
“In civil cases, if the facts are complicated and the amount in dispute exceeds 500 million won, it goes before a panel. There are exceptions, of course.”
“Oh! Then since our land compensation is over 500 million won, it’ll be a panel?”
Hmm.
“No, I think it’ll be heard by a single judge. Even if the amount exceeds 500 million won, a case assigned to a panel can still be heard by a single judge, but this one is simple, so it probably won’t be transferred to a panel.”
“...This case is simple?”
She looked mildly shocked.
“The facts are clear, and the evidence is straightforward. Unless your brothers hire a lawyer, their answer won’t stray much from that KakaoTalk complaint.”
“Wow! So this is why people say to leave it to the experts.”
“I ask you about flowers, don’t I, Auntie?”
“Right? You even asked me on your mother’s memorial day. And when you sent those flowers to your grandmother’s place recently too.”
As if she’d caught me, Auntie’s eyes were shining.
Her lips moved silently.
Then what about the soap flowers over there?
She meant that if there was a recorder inside, why had I left it in the room as though it were part of the conversation?
My answer, from one expert to another:
Because it’s important evidence.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Thursday, January 25.
The answer brief from Oh Yoon-sik’s siblings arrived.
“Since nothing came in all this time, I guess their case was dismissed outright.”
Their answer brief contained even more outrage than the KakaoTalk complaint.
It was enough to make anyone uneasy after receiving a complaint, but they took the hard line that family loyalty should come first.
They still haven’t realized that Oh Yoon-sik is different now.
The day he threw the ashtray.