Korean Association of Law School Alumni: "Law School Admissions Should Be Reduced to 1,500 and Education Improved"

Korean Association of Law School Alumni
Calls for Consolidation of Quasi-Legal Professions
and Reduction of Law School Admissions

The Korean Association of Law School Alumni, an organization of attorneys who graduated from law schools, has called for the consolidation of quasi-legal professions and the expansion of the role of lawyers. The association also demanded that the number of law school admissions be reduced to 1,500 in order to address the oversupply of lawyers.

On April 24, the day the results of the 14th bar exam were announced, the association held a rally near the Government Complex Gwacheon at 2:30 p.m. and stated, "Expand the role of lawyers by consolidating quasi-legal professions and strengthen education through a four-year law school system." The 14th bar exam results were announced on this day.

The law school system was launched in 2009 with the aim of expanding the roles of lawyers, including their entry into public office and other diverse fields. However, according to the association, contrary to its original purpose, many lawyers are now facing threats to their livelihoods, and there has been an increase in types of legal ethics violations that did not exist in the past.

The association stated, "We must move away from the notion that simply increasing the number of lawyers without limit will benefit the public," and appealed for "genuine alternatives, including reducing admissions quotas and adjusting the number of lawyers."

Previously, on April 14, the Korean Bar Association also held a rally calling for a reduction in the number of new lawyers, stating, "Since the introduction of law schools, the indiscriminate increase in the number of bar exam passers has led to an oversupply of lawyers and intensified competition," and urged that "the number of successful candidates for the 14th bar exam this year should be set at 1,200 or fewer."

The Bar Association also pointed out, "While the number of new lawyers has surged, the consolidation of quasi-legal professions, which was a condition for the introduction of law schools, has not taken place at all."