Korean Herald Publishes Piece On Liberalization Of Legal Market

The corresponding law firms or lawyers need to be qualified by the state which has concluded a free trade agreement with Korea or at least mutually agreed to open the legal markets, according to the act.

They may directly represent the parties in domestic legal cases involving their national state or the law of the national state.

Foreign lawyers, though still restricted in taking charge of domestic affairs, have thus been enabled to offer direct legal services to their clients. So far, the law only allowed lawyers with foreign licenses to perform legal consulting when employed by a local law firm or company.

Those who wish to so work in Korea are to have work experience of three years or more in their original country and to register themselves at the Korean Bar Association, under the approval of the Justice Minister.

They also need to spend 180 days or more per year in Korea, according to the law.

Foreign law firms similarly need to have performed business for five year or more in their original country. The representative is to have a total work experience of seven years or more, among which three or more years are to be spent in the original state.

The formal registration and ministerial approval are equally required.

Firms and lawyers from 14 states in total are to benefit from the new law – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei, and Thailand.