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영어

The introduction of a law school system in Korea is a contentious subject. The involved institutions comprise the government, universities, the Korean Bar Association and the judiciary. In the beginning, there was considerable resistance against the plans for a law school system. The government decided nevertheless to change the law education system in anticipation of the opening of the law service market. The Korean government intends to conclude FTAs with the USA, China and Japan. If this plan materializes the Korean law service market will face international competition with global law firms. Then, it will become a social necessity to introduce a law school system in order to protect the rights of the Korean people in international legal disputes as the present law education system does not provide a competitive edge to the local lawyers. The Korean Bar Association is adamant about the number of students who should be allowed to enter law schools. It asserts a yearly quota of 1200 persons. The law departments of the universities insist on a number of 3000 students. The main reason for this conflict lies in differing views on the legal position of lawyers. They themselves ascribe an official character to their position, which is in general disputed by the universities. Under those circumstances, I suggest that the law school system should be redesigned, as it will not provide the envisioned effects in form of improved competitiveness. To cope with the opening of the law service market each law department should be able to choose its own focus and specialization in the law field. Then the applicants will be able to choose those law schools that match their professional ambitions best. This would also make redundant the need for the government to allocate quotas or get mixed up in the management of the law schools. Many proponents of the law school system deem it necessary for the solution of domestic problems like the excessive number of students preparing for the lawyer examination. They misunderstand or underestimate the much more important international perspective of the law schools. In the future, Korean lawyers must be able to open offices in China, India and the USA. Korean lawyers must acquire expertise in foreign law. To make that possible, the government has to redesign the present law school scheme with an orientation towards the international law service market in mind. In conclusion, the quotas as well as the specialisation of the law schools must be up to the universities in order to enhance their international competitiveness on the global law service market.