Analysis of Law Firm Recruitment
All newly hired lawyers at law firm YK in 2025 were graduates of law schools outside of Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University (hereafter referred to as 'SKY'). Among the six new lawyers hired by YK, five were from regional law schools. Law firm Daeryun also filled 17 out of 18 new lawyer positions in 2025 with non-SKY graduates; only one was from Korea University Law School.
YK's sales surged from 78.6 billion won in 2023 (based on National Tax Service VAT filings) to 154.7 billion won in 2024, allowing it to enter the top 10 law firms by revenue. Daeryun also ranked among the top 10 law firms with 112.7 billion won in 2024 sales. Both YK and Daeryun have rapidly expanded by opening branch offices nationwide. Analysts say their recruitment of new lawyers is also regionally focused, aligning with this growth strategy.
Among the top 12 law firms by revenue, Jipyung had the highest proportion of SKY graduates, with all 11 new lawyers coming from SKY law schools. Next were Gwangjang at 84.4% (38 out of 45), Sejong at 82.9% (29 out of 35), Kim & Chang at 80% (44 out of 55), Taepyeongyang at 77.1% (27 out of 35), Yulchon at 74.4% (29 out of 39), DaeryukAju at 71.4% (10 out of 14), Hwawoo at 60% (15 out of 25), Barun at 53.8% (7 out of 13), Daeryun at 5.6% (1 out of 18), and YK at 0%.
Even when expanding the scope to include mid- to large-sized law firms subject to post-retirement employment review for public officials in 2025?such as Pyeongsan, KCL, Won, Lin, YK, LKB & Partners, Seeum, Peter & Kim, Hwahyun, and Baeksong, which disclosed their new lawyer hiring status to Law Times?the 'SKY concentration phenomenon' remained pronounced. Among the 21 law firms, 66.1% of newly hired lawyers were SKY law school graduates, accounting for about two-thirds. The breakdown was: Seoul National University 107 (31.3%), Korea University 65 (19.0%), Yonsei University 54 (15.8%), Sungkyunkwan University 23 (6.7%), Ewha Womans University 13 (3.8%), Kyung Hee University and Hanyang University 12 each (3.5%), Chung-Ang University 6 (1.8%), Sogang University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies 4 each (1.2%), and University of Seoul 3 (0.9%). Although some new lawyers were hired from regional law schools such as Kangwon National University, Dong-A University, Yeungnam University, Chonnam National University, and Chungbuk National University, the majority still came from major law schools in Seoul and the metropolitan area.
Perhaps as a result, it is said that many students at regional law schools take a leave of absence immediately after admission to attempt to transfer to a SKY law school?a practice known as 'law school retaking.' A lawyer who joined a mid-sized law firm as a new hire in 2024 commented, "Many law school students think that getting into a top-tier law school is the top priority if they want to work at a major law firm from the start. Law firms say they do not consider the law school of origin, but the results show an overwhelming number of SKY graduates, so students inevitably consider retaking or transferring." A professor at a metropolitan area law school added, "Every year, more than 10% of the student body takes a leave of absence to retake or transfer, and some succeed and move to a school in Seoul. As a result, regional law schools fail to fill their quotas, and the competitiveness of their graduates continues to decline."
The total number of new lawyer hires at the 12 largest law firms was the highest in the past three years. Although new lawyer recruitment at major law firms had been on a downward trend for the past three years, it rebounded in 2025. Despite a sluggish overall legal market due to a weak economy, demand for major law firms increased, leading to expanded hiring.
Individually, Yulchon and DaeryukAju each hired eight more new lawyers than in 2024, with Yulchon hiring 39 and DaeryukAju 14 in 2025. Gwangjang increased its new hires by six to 45, while Hwawoo hired two more than the previous year, bringing its total to 25. Kim & Chang, Jipyung, and Barun hired 55, 11, and 13 new lawyers, respectively, each up by one from 2024, effectively maintaining similar hiring levels for two consecutive years.
On the other hand, Taepyeongyang hired 35 new lawyers in 2025, seven fewer than in 2024. Sejong also hired three fewer, with a total of 35 new lawyers.
Excluding YK and Daeryun, the proportion of female new lawyers at the other 10 major law firms rose slightly to 44.9% in 2025, up from 42.4% in 2024. The number of female new lawyers at these 10 firms was: 82 (32.8%) in 2020, 85 (36.6%) in 2021, 106 (35.8%) in 2022, 129 (46.4%) in 2023, decreasing to 108 in 2024, but rising again to 122 in 2025. Taepyeongyang, Barun, and DaeryukAju had more female than male new lawyers. Conversely, Kim & Chang, Gwangjang, Sejong, Yulchon, Hwawoo, and Jipyung had more male new lawyers. YK and Daeryun were excluded from this analysis due to lack of data from 2020 to 2023.
Dongin has not hired any new lawyers for the past three years.
Han Suhyeon, Law Times Reporter
Seo Hayoun, Law Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
