Legal Profession Commons^™

Legal Market Liberalization In South Korea: Preparations For Change, Hyung Tae Kim

Washington International Law Journal

South Korea’s World Trade Organization membership requires the “Land of the Morning Calm” to liberalize its legal market. South Korea submitted its proposal for liberalization in the spring of 2003 and planned to begin opening its legal market in 2005. However, disagreements between South Korea and other World Trade Organization members over the scope of liberalization have led to a one-year negotiation period extension, pushing back the planned market opening to early 2007. The Korean Bar Association has strongly opposed liberalization, claiming that liberalization will lead to the foreign domination of South Korea’s legal market. On the other hand, most …