‘국내 최초’ 법학연구기관, 고려대학교 법학연구원- 창립 65주년 역사와 전망 - = Historical Significance and Prospect of 65th Anniversary of the Korea University Legal Research Institute, as the First Legal Research Institution in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In 2025, the Korea University Legal Research Institute reaches its sixty-fifth year since its establishment in 1960. This article aims to demonstrate the Institute’s founding status as Korea’s first legal research institution and to clarify its historical significance and contributions. For this purpose, this article consults the Handbook of the Korean University Legal Research Institute, published to commemorate the Institute’s thirtieth anniversary in 1990, and further supporting sources to illuminate the context of its founding and the state of legal research at the time.
Founded on December 10, 1960, the Institute was the first university- affiliated legal research center in Korea and later encouraged the foundation and growth of similar research units at other universities. On May 25, 1962, by releasing The Law and Administration Review, the Institute became the first Korean institution to publish an academic legal journal under a legal research institute, thereby paving the way for others to follow. On May 24, 1965, the Insititute was designated by the government as the nation’s sole authorized insitution for handling publications related to North Korea and socialist legal systems, through which the Insitute became the only specialized research institute in this filed in Korea. With the growing openness and accessibility of research on North Korean and socialist legal systems, the Center for North Korean Law, having fulfilled its academic mission, was formally dissolved on March 10, 2021.
Above all, it is necessary to reaffirm the historical weight of the Insitute’s status as the “first in the nation.” Equally significant, however, is the Institute’s role as ‘the origin of legal research in Korea’ and ‘the cradle of Korean jurisprudence.’ The Institue has continued to play a leading role in advancing legal scholarship nationawide, grounded in lasting pride in its status as the origin of legal research in Korea. Today, Korean society faces new challenges and urgent tasks. As Korea University celebrates its 120th anniversary, the Legal Research Institute must continue to fulfill its academic mission in keeping with the University’s motto of “Liberty, Justice, and Truth.” Building upon its long-standing commitment to liberty, its pursuit of concrete justice, and its dedication to truth, the Institute must remain steadfast in its calling of “advancing the nation through legal scholarship.”