By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI) is calling on the government to double the student quota for law schools to 4,000 to meet growing demand for legal services and help boost the economy. Currently, the government plans to allow about 15 law schools, which will open in March 2009 across the country, to recruit 2,000 students each year.
The institute said Monday that the government should increase the student quota for the soon-to-be-established law schools to at least 4,000 in order to supply enough legal professionals and make legal services more affordable to the public.
``The number of lawsuits and other legal disputes rose by 13 to 14 percent annually from 1977 through 2006. But the number of lawyers rose 8.4 percent during the 30-year period, resulting in a shortage and high costs for legal services,'' KDI researcher Kim Du-ol said in a report.
He said if the number of legal cases continues to expand at the current pace until 2030, the country will need to produce a minimum of 4,000 new lawyers, judges and prosecutors per annum.
``Besides litigation-related legal professionals, the country needs more lawyers as companies and individuals demand more diverse legal services. For instance, businesses need to consult with lawyers about legal issues before starting new projects,'' Kim said.
The researcher said it is crucial to supply a sufficient number of professionals to reduce costs and help boost economic activities. ``If the government does not allow law schools to admit and train enough students, we will continue to see many highly educated people study for years to enter law schools as under the current bar exam system.''
The government has set a 2,000-student quota for the specialized schools, with universities in Seoul and adjacent areas admitting 1,040 and those in provinces 960.
A total of 41 universities are vying to win the right to establish law schools but only 25 of them will be allowed to set them up.
The government plans to announce a tentative list late this month and a final list in September after examining whether those universities have taken the proper steps, including hiring enough law professors.
It said it intends to make legal services widely available to local citizens by introducing the schools. Another reason is to reduce the number of highly educated people who want to become lawyers and refuse to work while studying for the current bar exam. Almost 20,000 applicants take the exam every year, but only 1,000 pass.
But universities and civic groups want at least 3,200 freshmen, claming that the government quota contradicts its original intention for introducing the new system.