새로운 도전과 변화의 시대: 고대 법대 商法學의 새로운 100년, 그 미래와 방향을 찾아서 = A New Era of Challenges and Changes: Charting the Future of Commercial Law at Korea University School of Law for Another Century

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In May 2025, Korea University (KU) School of Law commemorates its 120th anniversary. This paper extends the historical reflection initiated in prior research marking the University’s centennial (1905–2005), turning now to the subsequent two decades—2005 to 2025—to trace the trajectory of education, scholarship, and academic development in commercial law at Korea University.
The period since 2005 has brought profound transformation and unprecedented challenges to Korean legal academia and legal education. The transition from an undergraduate, examination-based system of legal training to an American-style law school model fundamentally reshaped the institutional framework, leading to the abolition of traditional undergraduate legal education within colleges of law and the establishment of graduate-level professional law schools. Within this context of structural reform and intellectual reorientation, this study examines how commercial law at Korea University has responded to these changes.
Over the past two decades, KU has remained steadfast in its commitment to cultivating the ideal of a whole person — one who combines intellectual depth with boldness of spirit. This vision has been pursued through consistent efforts at diversification and a vibrant culture of academic competition.
Commercial law scholars at KU, including esteemed emeritus professors, have engaged in rigorous discourse on legal doctrines and interpretations, blending intense intellectual rivalry with a lasting sense of collegiality.
As we reflect in 2025, we are reminded that today’s present soon becomes tomorrow’s history—and that history, in turn, shapes the path ahead. Thus, retrospection should not be merely commemorative, but strategic, offering critical insights into the future direction of commercial law scholarship at Korea University.
Standing now at the threshold of a new century, we must rise to meet new challenges: moving beyond the passive reception of foreign legal theories toward cultivating a legal culture grounded in Korea’s lived realities and normative traditions.
In this evolving legal and educational environment—particularly one increasingly focused on practice-oriented instruction—the role of foundational legal scholarship remains more essential than ever.
As KU School of Law aspires to play a leading role in shaping the global legal order and contributing meaningfully to transnational legal discourse, commercial law must once again take the lead in charting a new course for the next hundred years.