By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Foreign law firms will be able to do business here on a limited basis in the initial stages of legal market opening.
The government approved a new law on foreign legal consultation at a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, clearing the way for foreign law firms to provide limited legal advisory services, the Justice Ministry said. The legal market opening comes in line with a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Under the revised law, foreign legal professions such as lawyers can perform consultative business here regarding laws governing their respective countries. But they will not be allowed to cooperate with Korean law firms or hire Korean lawyers.
It will be the first of the phased legislation of the Law on Foreign Legal Consultants, which Seoul concluded with the U.S. last year. The ministry will propose the bill to the National Assembly for legislation soon.
``It's the first stage of the agreement on legal market opening as agreed with the U.S. We may have different details in pacts with other nations. So, we need to see whether the system under the first stage works well or if we need to modify the law afterward,'' a ministry official said.
He said it took 18 years for Japan to implement its three stages of legal market opening. In contrast, Korea plans to adopt the last stage within five years.
According to the planned schedule, the first stage will begin around 2009. In the second stage, which will be carried out between 2010 and 2011, foreign law firms' Korean offices will be allowed to cooperate with Korean law firms. The two sides can take cases jointly and share earnings when the cases involve both domestic and foreign law.
In the last stage, around 2014, foreign and Korean law firms will be able to set up joint companies.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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