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Author 국제팀 Hit 115 Date 2025-01-07 오전 10:04:00
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[Statement]Expression of Regret and Concern Over the Attempt to Extend the Vacancy Replenishment System in Law Schools and a Call to Abandon Such Efforts

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The Ministry of Education is currently attempting to extend the implementation period of the Law School Vacancy Replenishment System, which allows each law school to recruit additional students within 10% of its admission quota for the following academic year in cases of vacancies. The extension aims to continue the system until 2026.

 

The Korean Bar Association (KBA) expresses regret and concern over this repeated attempt to extend the system through an amendment to the enforcement decree, which contradicts the intent of the law, despite the original purpose of the system having long since expired. The KBA urges the abandonment of efforts to extend the system.

 

In April 2024, the Ministry of Government Legislation pre-announced the proposed amendment to the *enforcement decree of the act on the establishment and management of professional law schools* as part of the "Presidential Decree Amending 33 Laws to Temporarily Ease Regulations and Revitalize the People's Economy." The amendment seeks to extend the vacancy replenishment system's implementation period from the 2023 and 2024 admissions cycles to the 2025 and 2026 admissions cycles.

 

The KBA responded to this announcement by presenting specific objections to the Ministry of Government Legislation and the Ministry of Education, highlighting that the vacancy replenishment system is unrelated to revitalizing the people's economy and that the system should be terminated as originally planned since its objectives have already been achieved. Following this, the Ministry of Government Legislation announced its decision to exclude the proposed amendment from the omnibus revision after discussions with the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry cited the need for further review of opinions and additional consultation with stakeholders.

 

Despite this, the Ministry of Education recently announced its plan to amend the enforcement decree to extend the vacancy replenishment system for two more years, covering the 2025 and 2026 admissions cycles, after discussions with the Ministry of Justice.

 

The vacancy replenishment system was initially implemented in 2010 as a temporary measure for the 20102013 admissions cycles to facilitate the successful establishment of the law school system. At that time, universities faced significant financial burdens from hiring additional faculty and constructing new facilities to meet law school accreditation requirements, and concerns were raised about student dropouts due to the coexistence of the National Bar Examination system.

 

However, the system has since been extended four times. Now, 15 years after the introduction of law schools, the original purpose of the system has long been exhausted. The vacancy replenishment system is based solely on an enforcement decree with no legal foundation in the parent law (*Act on the Establishment and Management of Professional Law Schools*). Instead, the parent law encourages competition among law schools to foster superior educational environments by providing for a transfer system. The vacancy replenishment system, however, blocks this legally mandated system, creates a non-competitive state among law schools, and undermines the purpose of the parent law. Such a system is unprecedented in other advanced countries or higher education systems.

 

Ultimately, the vacancy replenishment system has devolved into a means of sustaining the financial viability of law schools, producing outcomes contrary to the law schools' mission of cultivating legal professionals who can deliver high-quality legal services. Thus, it must be abolished as soon as possible.

 

Fortunately, the KBA’s continuous advocacy for the abolition of the system has led the Ministry of Education to agree that extending the system through biennial amendments to the enforcement decree is problematic. The Ministry has announced plans to establish a task force (TF) in 2025 to improve the vacancy replenishment system and will request recommendations for TF members from the Ministry of Justice and the KBA.

 

The KBA will make every effort to prevent repeated extensions of the vacancy replenishment system through enforcement decree amendments and to ensure that law schools are operated in alignment with their founding purpose.

 

December 26, 2024

Korean Bar Association

Young Hoon KIM, President



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