Law School Selection Upsets Schools

The announcement of 25 universities yesterday chosen to offer law school programs has stirred not only the universities failed to put their names on the list but also the ones unsatisfied with student quota.

Especially, the schools that failed to obtain the permission are facing a harsh aftermath. Some alumni organizations requested their school president to step down, and local business leaders are voicing concerns over an economic slump in their region.

The unexpected steep resistance has shocked the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. Now, the ministry is reviewing its interim determination to appease the snowballing dissatisfaction both from the chosen and the failed.

Now, the ministry is examining the final recommendations of the special committee in charge of law school selection, to determine whether student quotas for the schools in Seoul and the Metropolitan areas could be rearranged. After consulting the presidential office, it will announce its final decision on Thursday morning.

An Education Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, “The committee report is not final. Our ministry is reviewing it now. Our determination on the school eligibility won’t change. But we still can rearrange the quotas.”

Education Minister Kim Shin-il also said at a parliamentary hearing yesterday, “We are in the final stage. For now, I don’t believe the interim decision should go through considerable modification.”

In the Seoul Metropolitan area, some 15 schools were chosen: Seoul Nat’l University, Korea University, Yonsei University, Hanyang University, Ewha Womans University, Chung-Ang University, Kyung Hee University, Sogang University, Konkuk University, Hankook University of Foreign Language Studies, University of Seoul, Inha University, Ajou University, and Kangwon National University. Two schools, Pusan National University and Dong-A University, are chosen in the Busan region, Kyungpook University and Yeungnam University in the Daegu Metropolitan region, Chonnam National University, Chonbuk National University, Wonkwang University, Cheju National University in the Jeolla region and Chungnam National University, Chungbuk National University in the Chungcheong region.

For example, Korea University, which can have 120 law students, is casting doubt on the screening criteria, arguing that it has produced armies of renowned lawyers. Other schools with 40-student quotas are also complaining that they cannot operate a law school with such a small number of students.

Countrywide, Chosun University, which reportedly invested most in its law school preparation, is showing the fiercest resistance. Gyeongsang Nat’l University also asserted that it is unacceptable to leave a region of 3.2 million residents without any law school.

Most of the selected schools are complaining as well, citing the small enrollment quota as the obstacle to appropriate operation.

Some schools with 40-80 student quotas in the Seoul area are complaining of reverse discrimination. They argue that local national universities with a poor pool of alumni lawyers and poor educational environments have got bigger quotas due to the affirmative policy.

At the same time, some 16 schools that failed to be selected are trying their best to reverse the decision.

The Law School Emergency Committee, consisting of law school deans and civil rights groups, held an emergency press conference yesterday. They demanded that the education minister should have the screening committee review its final recommendation once again and delay the final announcement, contending that it is not understandable to reject eligible schools as well as the four-time difference in quotas among applicants.

Out of dissatisfaction, some schools are mulling over various options including filing an appeal about the final recommendation, or an administrative lawsuit against the soon-to-be-released final determination of the ministry. They are also considering demanding for the disclosure of screening processes.

foryou@donga.com