By Lee Kyung-min
Sixty-one people have begun studying at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (JRTI), where only those who passed the now-abolished state-administered bar exam undergo two years of training before becoming judges, prosecutors or lawyers, the organization said Friday. The last batch of trainees to enter the institute includes 55 people who passed the state bar exam last year. The remaining six had postponed entering due to personal reasons such as completing mandatory military service or sickness.
Nearly half, or 42.6 percent, are women, the biggest percentage since the institute opened in 1971. Fifteen trainees graduated from Seoul National University, seven from Hanyang, six each from Korea and Sungkyunkwan, five each from Yonsei and Ewha Womans. Their average age was 33.85, with 46 being the oldest and 21 the youngest. With no more trainees to enter following the abolishment of the state bar exam, the institute will focus on legal studies and research to improve the individual capacity of legal professionals.
The controversial measure to abolish the state bar exam was finalized late last year following a Constitutional Court ruling that recognized abolishing the exam did not infringe on the rights of those who prepared for the test to choose their professions, including high ranking civil servants. The decision on Dec. 28, last year, was the second such ruling on the issue, following the first one that ruled the abolishment was constitutional in September 2016.
The court said those seeking to become legal professionals could do so by entering law school and taking a test after earning a degree there, dismissing arguments from those who filed the petition seeking to retain the bar exam alongside law school, the entering of which became a prerequisite to becoming legal professionals in 2009. Those seeking to become legal professionals must attend a law school and sit an attorney qualification exam. Only law school students or graduates can sit the exam. The government said at the time it would allow an eight-month grace period to give test-takers time to change their study plans accordingly.
However, criticism grew, because attending law school requires more financial resources including tuition costs upwards of 10 million won ($97,000) a year, which posed a major barrier to those without an affluent financial background. Petitioners, and the court in a dissenting opinion, claimed the two systems could co-exist because they both had similarly strong institutional value.