Ewha Womans University professor's book on insolvency law named 2026 Sejong Outstanding Academic Book

"Insolvency Law," published last year by Jeon Dae-gyu, an adjunct professor at Ewha Womans University School of Law and a practicing attorney specializing in insolvency, has been named a 2026 Sejong Outstanding Academic Book.

The book, published by Beopmunsa, was selected for the honor, legal circles said Friday. The Sejong Academic Book Support Project is organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and administered by the Korea Publishing Industry Promotion Agency. Each year, the program selects outstanding first-edition titles and distributes them to libraries nationwide to promote a reading culture and support the publication of quality books.

A total of 6,844 titles were submitted this year, and 774 were selected — including 429 general-interest books and 345 academic titles. The selected books will be distributed to public libraries, small community libraries, literary halls and military libraries across the country, as well as Korean cultural centers abroad, hangul schools and university libraries overseas.

Published in August 2025, "Insolvency Law" extracts the common legal principles underlying each insolvency procedure and presents them in a framework that runs through the subject as a whole. The book focuses on explaining the fundamental theories of insolvency law in a logical and in-depth manner. It also covers emerging topics — including franchise contracts and the insolvency of joint ventures — to reflect recent developments and equip readers for practical work.

Jeon was born in 1968 in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, and graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in business administration. He passed the certified public accountant examination in 1990 and the bar examination in 1996. After completing the 28th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he served as a judge at the Seoul Administrative Court and as a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute before retiring from the bench in 2022 as a senior judge at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court and opening a private law practice.

Jeon built his expertise in insolvency after taking on insolvency cases at the Gwangju District Court in 2003, subsequently serving in the bankruptcy divisions of the Changwon and Suwon district courts and at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. He published "Debtor Rehabilitation Law" in 2016 and released 10 revised editions, compiling the theory and practice of each insolvency procedure. "Insolvency Law" is a distilled edition centered on the most essential content, written in a more concise form.

"This is a book that can serve as an introduction to insolvency law at a time when insolvency has become a part of everyday life," Jeon said. "I hope it becomes a starting point for legal professionals who aspire to become true experts in the field of insolvency law in the age of AI."