Korean Law Firms Cited for Low Competitiveness

Korean Law Firms Cited for Low Competitiveness. June. 28, 2010 11:35. bell@donga.com baltika7@donga.com.

Major domestic companies has given Korean law firms 79 out of 100 points for competitiveness, and 83 percent of the companies say they could turn to foreign law firms should Korea’s legal market be opened.

The Dong-A Ilbo polled 50 large domestic corporations, state-run companies and financial institutions and 18 major law firms on the competitiveness of Korean law firms in response to the opening of the Korean legal market.

On whether they would turn to foreign law firms after the market’s opening, 71.4 percent or 35 of the legal departments of the 50 companies said they would do so for “certain sectors.” Just five companies (16.3 percent) said no.

On which sector will be the most affected by the opening, 13 law firms said the financial sector and six firms said the corporate sector, including mergers and acquisitions and fair trading. This indicates that foreign law firms will gain ground in the domestic market for legal services in finance and business, where they have a competitive edge.