[Opinion] Law School War

No legal expert can really be an “expert” in all legal matters such as patents, tax or international trade. In this modern world that requires specialized knowledge, a judge or prosecutor will find a multitude of legal issues he or she simply cannot deal with because of lack of specific legal knowledge. Not only judges or prosecutors but also court lawyers will have a similar problem. The law school system is intended to provide high-quality and specialized legal service wherever needed at lower prices. The original intent has been completely forgotten, however, and the system is in crisis due to fierce competition between universities who want to open law schools.

The number of law school students is capped because the legal sector is against raising the number of lawyers too fast. The idea for the law school system came from universities. The initial plan was to announce Thursday which universities will get to open law schools and their respective student quotas. The tally was supposed to be 25 universities with student quotas of 40 to 150 for a combined annual enrollment of 2,000 students. Universities who were not chosen or unhappy over their quotas revolted. In front of the government complex building in downtown Seoul, deans cried out slogans through megaphones in indignation, pumping their fists in the air.

Gyeongsang National University, which was snubbed, convened an emergency faculty meeting in which members resolved to resign in protest. The alumni association of Chosun University staged a “citizens’ rally” in downtown Gwangju, demanding that the decision be revoked. Dankook University in Seoul even ran a newspaper ad in protest and threatened a lawsuit. Dongguk University, a school affiliated with Buddhism, suggested a conspiracy against a certain religion. Unhappiness has thus spread to the some 40 universities nationwide that were not selected. The huge amount of investment they made on recruiting big-name faculty members and brand-new facilities will be a serious blow to them.

The Education Ministry “defied” pressure from the presidential office to add a particular university to the list, a situation unheard of. To make matters worse, Yun Seung-yong, former presidential secretary for public relations who will run in the April general elections, raised suspicions of using the selection process for his campaign by saying, “I played a critical role in Wonkwang University’s successful bid.”

It is questionable if the final list of the law schools will be announced today as planned. The law school war will soon move to its second phase with a series of lawsuits filed by universities that were not selected. The next administration has remained silent on the matter, but it will not be too long before it is pressured to say something.