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The Attorney () 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 , 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.
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 perjury 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.
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 in South Korea, with 11,375,954 tickets sold.
| 2014 | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best Newcomer | Im Si-wan | |||
| Black Dragon Audience Award | The Attorney | |||
| First Runner-up, Golden Mulberry Award | ||||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) for Film | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best Film | The Attorney | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | |||
| Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | |||
| 14th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | ||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best Producer | Choi Jae-won | |||
| Best Film | The Attorney | |||
| Best Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | |||
| Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | |||
| Buil Reader's Jury Award | The Attorney | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Critics' Top 10 | The Attorney | |||
| Best Film | The Attorney | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | |||
| Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | |||
| Best Cinematography | Lee Tae-yoon | |||
| Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | |||
| Best Art Direction | Ryu Seong-hui | |||
| Best Lighting | Oh Seung-chul | |||
| Hana Financial Group Star Award (Popularity Award) | Im Si-wan | |||
| Best Film | The Attorney | |||
| Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best New Director | Yang Woo-suk | |||
| Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | |||
| Best Screenplay | Yang Woo-suk, Yoon Hyeon-ho | |||
| Best Cinematography | Lee Tae-yoon | |||
| Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | |||
| Best Lighting | Oh Seung-chul | |||
| Best Music | Jo Yeong-wook | |||
| Popular Star Award | Im Si-wan | |||
| Korea Film Actor's Association Awards | Korea's Top Film Star | Song Kang-ho | ||
| Popularity Award | Im Si-wan | |||
| 9th Max Movie Awards | Best Actor | Song Kang-ho | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kwak Do-won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Young-ae | |||
| Best New Actor | Im Si-wan | |||
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