Kim Younghoon, Next President of the Korean Bar Association: "Selfless Dedication to the Rule of Law"

Attorney Kim Younghoon, elected as the 52nd President of the Korean Bar Association. Photo by Kim Younghoon Election Campaign.

[Asia Economy, Legal Affairs Correspondent Choi Seokjin] Kim Younghoon, the managing partner of Law Firm Seou and the newly elected 52nd President of the Korean Bar Association (age 59, Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 27), expressed his gratitude upon election, stating, "With a single-minded dedication to the rule of law, I will serve the public and our members."

On the morning of January 17, Kim shared his thoughts on his election via Facebook, saying, "I have always believed that I must serve and devote myself to the public and our members with unwavering commitment to the rule of law." He added, "I will always listen humbly and approach my duties with a spirit of selfless public service."

He remarked, "Sartre once said, 'Life is C (Choice) between B (Birth) and D (Death).' Deciding to run for president of the association was another major choice in my life, and I took a bold step forward."

He continued, "Above all, I was moved by the concern that if the Bar Association does not remain a stabilizing force amid these turbulent times, the very foundation of society could be shaken." He emphasized, "At the very least, I believe the legal profession must not pander to trends or commit foolish mistakes such as 'pointing to a deer and calling it a horse' (Zhi Lu Wei Ma) based on shallow logic."

In the election held the previous day, Kim won 3,909 votes (38.56%) out of a total of 10,137 valid votes, securing his position as the next president.

Kim graduated from Baemoon High School in Seoul and the Department of Public Law at Seoul National University, and completed graduate studies in law at Seoul National University. After passing the 37th National Judicial Examination in 1995, he was appointed as a judge at Daejeon District Court in 1998. He later served as a judge at Suwon District Court before leaving the judiciary and opening his law practice in 2005.

During the 51st executive board of the Korean Bar Association, Kim served as Vice President and chaired the 'My Lawyer' operations committee, established by the association to counter private legal platforms such as LawTalk. He also became the inaugural president of the 'National and Public Defense Lawyers Association,' a body under the Bar Association dedicated to improving the treatment and protecting the rights of public defenders.

In this election, Kim pledged to: ▲ Eliminate private platforms through lawyer solidarity ▲ Strengthen the competitiveness of 'My Lawyer' in cooperation with the courts and the Ministry of Justice ▲ Integrate similar professions and reduce the number of new lawyers by reforming law school systems ▲ Establish a mutual aid foundation for lawyers to promote legal insurance ▲ Realize mandatory representation by quasi-lawyers through discovery and jury systems ▲ Significantly increase compensation for public defenders and reinstate success fees in criminal cases to boost lawyer incomes ▲ Regain control of the 2 trillion won debt collection market.

The certificate of election will be presented to Kim at 11:00 a.m. today in the main conference hall of the Korean Bar Association headquarters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.