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Law school dispute intensifies amid boycott threat by 36 universities
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ
By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's plan to introduce U.S. style
law schools faces a tough road ahead amid increasing dispute between
the Education Ministry and domestic universities over the nationwide
student enrollment quota.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ At present, South Koreans wanting
to become lawyers, judges or prosecutors must pass the state-run bar
exam, which is used to select a set quote of 1,000 examinees a year,
and undergo two years of legal institute training.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ Under the
law on the law school system which passed the National Assembly in
July, four years of undergraduate education and three years of law
school are a must for lawyer qualification exam. The new qualification
exam will pass all candidates scoring above a certain cutoff.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ
The Education Ministry decided last week to set the initial quota of
law students at 1,500, approximately half the number the universities
want to enroll at the planned schools.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ Fierce dissent from
the proposed quotas has now seen thirty-six of the nation's 41
universities preparing to open law schools threaten this week to
boycott the South Korean government's law school plan.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ "A
total of 36 universities have decided not to apply for government
approval for their law schools," said Prof. Chang Jae-ok of Seoul's
Chung-Ang University, who is leading the nationwide campaign against
the Education Ministry.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ Chang accused the ministry of turning
a blind eye to growing public demand for wider and easier access to law
professionals and legal services.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ The ministry said it plans
to approve about 20 to 21 schools for the law school program, or an
average of 80 students per school.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ The universities and law
professors complained that almost half of the aspiring universities
will be forced to give up creating law schools due to the insufficient
student quota, raising suspicions that the ministry may have been
lobbied by practicing lawyers who fear an increased turn-out of new
lawyers would cut into their income and social status.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ "The
government's decision to fix the law school quota at 1,500 would impair
the purpose of the law school system and trigger regional and
university-to-university conflicts," said Chang.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ He noted the
disgruntled universities will further toughen their anti-law school
campaign after watching the Education Ministry's policy report to the
National Assembly on Friday.
ㅤㅎㅗㄳㅤㅎㅗㄳ ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
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