# The Attorney

The Attorney (Korean: 변호인; RR: Byeonhoin) is a 2013 South Korean legal drama film directed and co-written by Yang Woo-suk in his directorial debut. With 11,375,954 tickets sold and a revenue of ₩82.9 billion, The Attorney became the 15th-best-selling Korean film of all time and the second-highest-grossing Korean film of 2013.
It was inspired by the real-life "Burim case" of 1981 when, during the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan regime, 22 students, teachers and office workers who belonged to a book club were arrested without warrants on fabricated charges that they were North Korea sympathizers. Roh Moo-hyun, then a tax lawyer from Busan, formed a legal team with his allies, including Moon Jae-in and Kim Kwang-il, to defend the arrested individuals against the government. After the case, Roh became an influential human rights lawyer throughout the 1980s; he later entered politics and became the 9th president of South Korea. Later, Moon Jae-in also became the 12th president of South Korea.

## Plot

In 1978, a former judge named Song moves to Busan to start his own law firm. The other lawyers look down on him because he had passed the bar-examination without ever going to university. Soon, however, he becomes rich from accepting the cases which his colleagues shun, even though they are the most profitable, such as real estate and taxation. Meanwhile, a detective named Cha is given orders from the highest levels of leadership to purge Busan of communists, even if it means resorting to fabrication. A medical officer from a nearby military base, Lt Yoon, is sent to oversee the health of the victims whom Cha's agents will torture.
Years later, in 1981, Song is enjoying his new-found fame and respect, and he even buys a sailboat with the hope of competing in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. One night, while dining at his favorite restaurant with his high school classmates, he gets into a fight with a journalist named Lee who sympathizes with the frequent student protests and claims that the mass media is inherently deceptive. A short time later, a high school student named Park, the son of the restaurant's owner, goes missing. Park's mother, Choi, frantically searches for him for nearly two months, even closing the restaurant, before it is revealed that Park and some other students are to face a trial for sedition.
Realizing that the students' confessions were extracted using torture, Song agrees to take the case. At the trial, he notices a number of violations of the Korean constitution, but is told by the prosecutors and the judge that normal laws do not apply in cases of national security. The prosecutors begin by arguing that the students studied a book called What Is History? by EH Carr. In response, Song gets a note from the British consulate attesting that EH Carr was a British ambassador, not a communist ideologue. Song is stunned, however, when Cha openly lies on the stand and denies that the defendants were tortured, claiming rather brazenly that all of their bruises and other injuries were self-inflicted.
A breakthrough happens when Lt Yoon agrees to testify. Lt Yoon confesses to the court that the defendants were tortured and is willing to describe the methods of their torture in detail. However, Cha reports the situation to his leadership, and they are able to frame Lt Yoon for desertion, thereby nullifying his testimony and sending him off to prison. The case is lost but the judge offers leniency by giving the students 2 years in prison at most.
By 1987, Song is a changed man and has become a protest leader himself. One day he is arrested for his activities and charged with sedition. To his amazement, 99 out of the 142 lawyers in Busan attend his hearing and express their support. Even so, free speech and the rule of law remain controversial subjects in Korea.

## Cast

* Song Kang-ho as Song Woo-suk
* Kim Young-ae as Choi Soon-ae
* Oh Dal-su as Park Dong-ho
* Kwak Do-won as Cha Dong-young
* Im Si-wan as Park Jin-woo
* Lee Sung-min as Lee Yoon-taek
* Jung Won-joong as Attorney Kim Sang-pil
* Song Young-chang as Judge
* Jo Min-ki as Prosecutor Kang Young-cheol
* Lee Hang-na as Song Woo-seok's wife
* Cha Eun-jae as Miss Moon
* Jung Joon-won as Song Gun-woo
* Cha Gwang-soo as Park Byeong-ho
* Lee Seon-hee as Evening school student
* Ryu Soo-young as Lee Chang-joon (cameo)

## Box office

Within ten days of its release, The Attorney had been seen by over 3.4 million people in South Korea. By the end of the year it became the 8th best-selling local movie of all time.
It reached 7.8 million admissions in 18 days, making it the fastest Korean film to pass 7 million admissions since the 2012 film The Thieves, which did it in 13 days. It became the tenth movie to break the 10 million admissions mark in Korea.
The film grossed a total of ₩82,880,761,300 in South Korea, with 11,375,954 tickets sold.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2014 | 8th Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 8th Asian Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Nominated |
| 2014 | 8th Asian Film Awards | Best Newcomer | Im Si-wan | Nominated |
| 2014 | 16th Udine Far East Film Festival | Black Dragon Audience Award | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 16th Udine Far East Film Festival | First Runner-up, Golden Mulberry Award | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Won |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) for Film | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Nominated |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Won |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Nominated |
| 2014 | 50th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 14th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 14th Director's Cut Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Won |
| 2014 | 14th Director's Cut Awards | Best Producer | Choi Jae-won | Won |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Film | The Attorney | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Director | Yang Woo-suk | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Won |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Won |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Buil Film Awards | Buil Reader's Jury Award | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Won |
| 2014 | 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Won |
| 2014 | 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Critics' Top 10 | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | The Attorney | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Won |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Won |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Cinematography | Lee Tae-yoon | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hui | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Best Lighting | Oh Seung-chul | Nominated |
| 2014 | 51st Grand Bell Awards | Hana Financial Group Star Award (Popularity Award) | Im Si-wan | Won |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | The Attorney | Won |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Won |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Lee Tae-yoon | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Lighting | Oh Seung-chul | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Music | Jo Yeong-wook | Nominated |
| 2014 | 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Popular Star Award | Im Si-wan | Won |
| 2014 | Korea Film Actor's Association Awards | Korea's Top Film Star | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | Korea Film Actor's Association Awards | Popularity Award | Im Si-wan | Won |
| 2014 | 9th Max Movie Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | Won |
| 2014 | 9th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | Won |
| 2014 | 9th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | Won |
| 2014 | 9th Max Movie Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Won |
| 2014 | 3rd Marie Claire Film Awards | Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | Won |