I am facing dismissal as a public official. Please help me.

Hello. This is an administrative attorney at Daeryun Law LLC.

To protect your honor and position as a public official, a careful and systematic response is essential.

If it is recognized that a public official committed a wrongful act in the course of duty after receiving money and valuables, this may, under the State Public Officials Act, constitute grounds for 'automatic retirement' and 'dismissal of a public official.'

Therefore, at this stage, a realistic response strategy is to reduce the sentence as much as possible through the appeal process against the criminal judgment and, based on that outcome, to argue for the revocation or mitigation of the dismissal disposition at the administrative litigation stage.

At Daeryun Law LLC, criminal attorneys and administrative attorneys operate a joint response system.

First, at the criminal appeal stage, we respond primarily with the following strategies.

1. Securing grounds for a sentence reduction through voluntary return of the money, a letter of reflection, and a petition
2. Proving that no actual damage arose to the taxpayer
3. Submitting sentencing materials that take into account the possibility of returning to public office

If a sentence reduction such as a suspended sentence is achieved in the criminal appellate trial, the likelihood increases that this will lead to the revocation or mitigation (to suspension from duty or salary reduction) of the dismissal disposition at the subsequent administrative litigation stage.

The Decree on Disciplinary Action against Public Officials sets out the types and standards of disciplinary action, and the administrative court, comprehensively considering leniency in the criminal judgment, the need to return to public office, and the degree of social criticism, may render a judgment of 'revocation of the disciplinary action' or 'order for re-disciplinary action' if it finds that the disposition of dismissal is excessive.

Therefore, the key responses at this point are as follows.

1. Securing a sentence reduction in the criminal appeal process (maximizing the possibility of a suspended sentence)

2. Preparing to argue for the revocation or mitigation of the dismissal disposition at the administrative litigation stage

3. Systematically organizing evidence such as the circumstances of the bribe, the return of the money and valuables, a letter of reflection, and records of public service career

4. Conducting the proceedings strategically through a joint criminal and administrative response

A public official can lose their position over a single mistake, but not every case leads to 'impossibility of reinstatement.'

Daeryun Law LLC has handled numerous cases in which a suspended sentence was obtained at the criminal trial stage and, in the ensuing disciplinary-revocation litigation, the dismissal disposition was revoked or mitigated to suspension from duty.

In the current situation, we recommend that you file an appeal promptly so that a criminal attorney and an administrative attorney can jointly establish a trial strategy and respond in a direction that opens up the possibility of reinstatement as a public official through a sentence reduction.