Chosun, the English language media outlet in Korea has reported…
That South Korea’s National Assembly approved on Monday the Foreign Legal Consultant bill aiming to allow foreign law firms to work in Korea.
They write:
As a result, once free trade deals with the United States, ASEAN and other regions go into effect, Korea’s legal sector will be opened.
If the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement takes effect, the domestic legal market will be gradually opened, allowing the establishment of joint-venture law firms between the two countries. Already, an FTA has gone into effect with the European Free Trade Association grouping Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein.
According to the law, foreign lawyers can serve as legal consultants on laws and treaties involving their own countries or international practice and can be proxies for international cases. But they will not be allowed to represent cases or serve as legal counsel to clients in Korean courts.
