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Law school dispute intensifies amid boycott threat by 36 universities
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙
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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙
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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 "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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 Chang accused the ministry of turning
a blind eye to growing public demand for wider and easier access to law
professionals and legal services.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 "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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 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.
占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙占쌉ㅿ옙占실ㅿ옙 [email protected]
(END)
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