The Defendants had the mind to pay the attorney fee for the joint fund of the fishing village fraternity when Defendant B was brought a lawsuit claiming damages from Defendant D and two others.

The Defendants embezzled the victim’s property by arbitrarily consuming the total amount of KRW 7.7 million on September 7, 2017, when the said common funds of fishing village fraternities were kept in custody for the said victim for business purposes, and KRW 4.4 million on March 9, 2017, and KRW 3.7 million on September 7, 2017.

2. Determination

A. In principle, attorney fees that can be paid at the expense of an organization are limited to cases where the organization itself becomes a party to a lawsuit. Thus, attorney fees for civil and criminal cases which become a party to a lawsuit cannot be paid at the expense of an organization. An exceptional case where a representative of an organization is a party to a lawsuit or other legal procedure, but an individual who is in the position of a representative for legal reasons is a party to a lawsuit or other legal procedure, or where a dispute arises in relation to the acts lawfully conducted for the organization as a representative or a representative, the pertinent legal dispute is closely related to the organization's work and business, and when there is a special need to conduct a lawsuit for the interest of an organization or respond to a complaint in light of the overall circumstances at the time (Supreme Court Decision 2004Do6280 Decided October 26, 2006).