Democratic Party lawmaker calls for bar exam preliminary test to widen path to legal profession

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju hosted a forum Thursday at the National Assembly Members' Office Building titled "A Forum on Introducing a Bar Exam Preliminary Test: The Need to Diversify Entry Paths into the Legal Profession."

The forum was organized to explore a supplementary pathway that would allow people with sufficient legal knowledge and ability to sit the bar exam without attending law school, and to discuss ways to improve the current system for training legal professionals.

In her opening remarks, Lee said a bar exam preliminary test "is a supplementary alternative that guarantees the constitutional right to freedom of occupational choice and broadens the path to becoming a legal professional," adding that "opening a path for people to compete on merit without going through law school expands opportunities at the starting line, and can go hand in hand with protecting the achievements law schools have built and the rights of their current students."

She also said it was necessary to examine whether the current five-attempt limit over five years after law school graduation constitutes an excessive restriction, and pledged to prepare an additional amendment to give those who have used up their bar exam attempts another chance.

The forum was chaired by Baek Won-gi, president of the Korean Association of Law Professors. Ahn Kyung-bong, a former law professor at Kookmin University and adviser at law firm Yulchon, presented on "Diversifying Entry Paths into the Legal Profession: The Case for a Bar Exam Preliminary Test," drawing on domestic and international examples to outline the need for such a system and propose a concrete design.

The panel discussion that followed included Jeong Cheol-seung, managing attorney at law firm The Firm; Lee Seong-jin, head of the reporting team at Legal Journal; Kim Jin-gyeong, director of media and public relations at the National Council of University Student Associations; an anonymous person who has exhausted their bar exam attempts; Lee Dong-geun, director of the legal personnel division at the Ministry of Justice; and Lee Seul-gi, an official and attorney at the judicial policy office of the Court Administration. Participants exchanged views on the need for a preliminary test, the feasibility of running it alongside the law school system, eligibility requirements, selection scale, practical training, and opportunities for those who have used up their bar exam attempts to try again.

Lee introduced a bill in April to amend the Bar Exam Act, with the introduction of a bar exam preliminary test as its centerpiece.

The bill would require the justice minister to administer a bar exam preliminary test each year, with those who pass allowed to sit the bar exam without attending law school. The number of candidates selected would be capped at one-fifth of the total law school enrollment quota, and applicants would be required to complete a set of legal coursework.

On the intent behind the bill, Lee said its purpose was "to guarantee the constitutional right to freedom of occupational choice and substantive equality of opportunity by creating a supplementary path through which people can compete on merit for the bar exam without going through law school."