By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Local media were already churning out the list of universities that will get licenses to run the first ever U.S.-style law schools from next year before the government's official announcement scheduled for Thursday. But the list has already triggered a strong backlash from universities that failed to win a license.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources has selected 25 law schools nationwide ― 15 in the Seoul area and 10 in the provinces.
Some top-tier universities including Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei are believed to have been chosen, while some reputed provincial colleges, especially in legal education, were excluded.
Schools failing to make the list will suffer disadvantages in the future as getting a license was crucial for their development, and some of them are threatening legal action to fight the decision. Even selected schools are expected to file complaints due to their disappointment in student quotas.
Among schools excluded from the list were Sookmyung and Dongguk universities.
``I was stunned when I saw the news with the official announcement still waiting to be made,'' said Prof. Lee Uk-han, dean of the college of law at Sookmyung in Seoul. ``An emergency meeting will be held today with law professors of unsuccessful colleges. We will seek ways to cope with this unacceptable decision.''
Prof. Lee Sang-young, dean of the college of law at Dongguk, said: ``Our graduates and those believing in Buddhism are reeling from the surprising news. We will look for a breakthrough in collaboration with other law professors during the emergency meeting.''
Of the total student quota of 2,000, 57 percent or 1,140 will study at universities in the central part of the peninsula including Seoul, while the remainder will study at schools in the other regions, the ministry said.
Seoul National was reportedly to have the largest student quota of 150 followed by Korea, Yonsei, Sungkyunkwan, Pusan National, Kyungpook National University and Chonnam National with 120. Hanyang, and Ewha Womans universities will have 100 students.
``We took into account schools' overall conditions including the number of graduates passing the Korean bar exam, research output of professors, school curriculum and research facilities in scoring each candidate,'' said an official from an ad-hoc committee assessing the universities. ``We also strived to allocate a certain number of law schools in provincial areas for the sake of the nation's balanced development.''
The first Legal Education Eligibility Test (LEET) ― a qualification test for law school entry ― will be held in August. The government will finalize the list of law schools in September to launch them in March next year.
``The government should have allocated more than a 150 student quota to at least one provincial college. But it's fine,'' said Prof. Kim Sang-young of Pusan National, one of the most successful provincial schools in student quotas. ``We will run the new program successfully and seek an opportunity to increase our student quota in the years to come.''