By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The government has delayed the announcement of a list of universities that will run the first ever U.S-style law schools until next week amid fierce protest from schools that were not picked.
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development said it will make the announcement, originally scheduled for Thursday, on Feb. 4. It underlines the escalating conflicts with universities challenging the selection process and even threatening legal action to fight the decision.
The list of 25 universities ― 15 in the Seoul area and 10 in the provinces ― that will get licenses to run the law schools was leaked to newspapers Wednesday before the government's announcement.
Despite the delay, the ministry said that the preliminary list, which was already reported by the local press, would not change much.
``Education minister Kim Shin-il has yet to approve the list made by the Legal Education Committee assessing the universities,'' the ministry said. ``The ministry will approve the list as reported originally.''
The ministry's position goes against Cheong Wa Dae which seeks to modify the already-disclosed list.
``The ministry was considering modifying the student quota and allocating at least one law school in each local metropolitan city or province,'' said Cheon Ho-seon, the presidential spokesman.
A source said that Cheong Wa Dae called on the ministry to give a license to Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, for the sake of balanced allocation between Seoul and the other regions. But he said this could spark further conflict since the university achieved poor scores in the assessment.
Meanwhile, the education ministry in central Seoul was busy appeasing enraged professors, graduates and concerned people from entering the government building to protest.
Dongguk University' president, vice president and dean of the college of law visited Cheong Wa Dae and the education ministry to submit a letter of complaint.
They urged the ministry to publicize the results of the assessment, with regard to student quota. University heads and law professors of other unselected schools including Chungju National, Chosun and Dankook University also visited the ministry to protest its decision.