공익인권 법무 분야의 현황과 전망; 서울대학교 로스쿨 공익인권교육의 현황과 문제점 = The Current Situation and Problems of Public Interest and Human Rights Education in the SNU Law School

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Prior to the introduction of law school system in South Korea, many authors anticipated vitalization of public interest and human rights education (and subsequent activation of public interest lawyering) in law schools because it was supported by the purpose of Korean judicial reform and its institutional features. Based on such expectations, this article attempts to analyze the status and problems of the public interest and human rights education in the Seoul National University Law School in a bid to evaluate the internal stability of legal education at Korean law schools in the light of the intent of the judicial reform. First, we analyzed the education programs that took place in the SNU Law School for the past 5 years and their performance on the objective side. Second, we attempted a qualitative research on the subjective awareness of the affected, based on in-depth interviews with both enrolled students and graduates of the SNU Law School. By analyzing the actualities of the public interest education in the SNU Law School on the operation of courses, Human Rights Law Center, and legal clinics, it can be concluded that its public interest education is falling apart. This results from three factors: ① structural problems of Law School - strict management system of GPA and the quota system of the bar exam, ② lack of institutionalization of human rights education, ③ ambiguous position of clinical legal education. Students under such circumstances are struggling to make up for the defect of the system; they compose the Human Rights Law Society and carry out so-called ‘self-help’ activities. However, such efforts have only limited attainments due to practical problems related to reproduction, opportunity cost and career. According to the results of in-depth interviews, students who have concerns for public interest and human rights are very aware that their school is not performing its role on the public interest education sufficiently. Also, many agreed on the necessity of institutionalization of the “self-help type” processes including human rights activities, in-service training, career exploration etc. to make them effective and continuous. Students` suffering under severe competition, lack of information about the public interest field, wrong preconceptions, and uncertain career path call for adequate help from the school by providing information, opportunities of systematic education, and cooperation with the field of practice. Such support could maintain students` interest and help them develop and concretize their vague orientation into specific careers. However, the school is currently not successful in preforming such role and such situation is acting as a factor causing students to give up their careers in the public interest or human rights field. Thus, law schools should put in active efforts to organize their specialized educational programs on the public interest law in order to solve the problems pointed out.