전체서비스
협회소개
징계정보 공개
Qualifications
Code of Ethics for Attorney-at Law
- ① The attorney-at-law shall make his or her mission to advocate fundamental human rights and realization of social justice.
- ② The attorney-at-law shall diligently and fairly carry out his or her duty and maintain honor and dignity.
- ③ The attorney-at-law shall serve the country and society by devoting in making the law as part of everyday life.
- ④ The attorney-at-law Attorneys shall contribute constantly to improving his or her legal culture with courage, wisdom and originality.
- ⑤ The attorney-at-law shall work hard to strengthen the democratic order and fight against injustice and corruption.
- ⑥ The attorney-at-law shall respect friendship and trust and show spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit.
- ⑦ The attorney-at-law shall contribute to world peace by facilitating international friendship among international lawyers.
Qualifications of an Attorney-at-Law
Traditionally, the only way to become a licensed attorney in Korea had been to pass the Korean Bar Examination and complete the two-year training course at the Judicial Research and Training Institute; however, the Korean Bar Examination is abolished in 2017. From 2009 to 2017, the professional law school and the Korean Bar Examination had been co-existed and concurrently operated for granting qualification of an attorney-at-law.
In 2009, professional law school system was firstly introduced. The educational ideology of professional law schools is to train legal professionals who have sound professional ethics based on rich education, a deep understanding of people and society, and morals valuing freedom, equality and justice, and who have knowledge and abilities that will allow professional and efficient resolution of diverse legal disputes in order to provide quality legal service responding to the people's diverse expectations and requests. From 2018, to graduate from the law school and pass the National Bar Examination is sole way to obtain qualification to be an attorney-at-law.
A judge or a prosecutor is also qualified to be an attorney-at-law according to the Article 4 of Attorney-at-Law Act.
Article 4 (Qualifications for Attorneys-at-Law)
Any person falling under any of the following subparagraphs shall be qualified to be an attorney-at-law: (Amended by Act No. 10627, May 17, 2011)
- 1. A person who has completed the required curriculum of the Judicial Research and Training Institute after passing the jurisprudence examination;
- 2. A person who is qualified as a judge or a prosecutor;
- 3. A person who has passed a bar examination.
Registration as an Attorney-at-Law
Any person qualified to become a licensed attorney and wishes to establish legal practice must register with the Korean Bar Association. The application for registration must be submitted to the KBA passing through the local bar association with which the applicant intends to be affiliated.
The referring local bar association may comment in writing to the Korean Bar Association on the applicant’s eligibility for registration. Registration may be denied by the Registration Review Committee established under Article 9 of 『Attorney-at-Law Act』. In such cases, when the registration is denied on the ground that the person falls under subparagraph 4, the Korean Bar Association shall determine a registration prohibition period of at least one year and up to two years through the resolution by the Registration Review Committee pursuant to Article 9 of 『Attorney-at-Law Act』.
Article 7 (Registration of Qualifications)
Any person falling under any of the following subparagraphs shall be qualified to be an attorney-at-law: (Amended by Act No. 10627, May 17, 2011)
- 1. Each attorney-at-law who intends to establish a legal practice shall register his/her name with the Korean Bar Association;
- 2. Each person who intends to register as referred to in paragraph (1) shall file with the Korean Bar Association an application for registration through a local bar association with which he/she intends to be affiliated;
- 3. Any local bar association may, upon receiving an application for registration referred to in paragraph (2), append thereto its written opinion on whether the applicant is qualified as an attorney-at-law;
- 4. The Korean Bar Association shall, upon receiving an application for registration referred to in paragraph (2), register the name in its roster of attorneys-at-law and serve, without delay, a notice thereof on the applicant.
Registration of Specialties of an Attorney-at-Law
In order to provide quality legal service and maximize law specialties, KBA implements registration of specialties of an attorney. A candidate who intends to register legal specialization must fulfill requirements and submit to KBA the application and supporting documents. Registration shall be determined by the KBA attorney Specialization Review Committee.
