Retired Public Officials Who Went to Law School with Taxpayer Money... Then Became Lawyers

Support for tuition fees for a total of 10 people until 2022
6 obtained lawyer qualifications... 2 retired
Tuition fees returned but salaries not returned

The Supreme Court's 'Law School Support Project,' introduced to enhance the expertise of court officials, has been criticized for being distorted into a means of personal self-development for individual public servants.

According to the '2022 Fiscal Year Supreme Court Settlement Review Report' prepared by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 24th, since the 'Law School Master's Program Support Project' first began in 2016, tuition fees have been supported for a total of 10 people through 2022.

This system supports 50% of all costs used for education and training, such as tuition and admission fees, separately from salary, so that court officials can devote themselves to the law school program for three years. Last year, about 24 million KRW in law school tuition was supported for four court officials.

Officials A and B, who entered Yeungnam University and Jeonbuk National University Law Schools in 2019 and obtained their lawyer qualifications last year, retired in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
[Photo by National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee]

Specifically, based on the annual total amount, Yeungnam University 7,789,000 KRW, Kangwon National University 4,311,000 KRW, Yeungnam University 8,039,000 KRW, and University of Seoul 3,872,000 KRW, among others.

Among the 10 people who received tuition support, six obtained lawyer qualifications, but two of them retired shortly after acquiring their qualifications. Officials A and B, who entered Yeungnam University and Jeonbuk National University law schools in 2019 and obtained lawyer qualifications last year, retired in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Tuition fees were returned, but salaries were not refunded

It is a system that supports 50% of the total costs used for education and training, such as tuition and admission fees, separately from the salary so that students can devote themselves to the law school course for three years. The amounts are 7,789,000 KRW for Yeungnam University, 4,311,000 KRW for Kangwon National University, 8,039,000 KRW for Yeungnam University, and 3,872,000 KRW for University of Seoul.
[Photo by National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee]

According to the National Assembly report, A and B returned the tuition fees they received upon retirement. However, there are no separate regulations regarding the salaries paid during the education period, so no refunds were made.

A National Assembly expert stated, "Support for the law school master's program for general public officials is unprecedented not only in administrative agencies but also in constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court," adding, "Especially when compared to institutions dealing with law like the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, and the Ministry of Justice, fairness needs to be reviewed."

He further added, "Even if support is provided in the future, it is necessary to improve and supplement support measures so that recipients do not retire shortly after obtaining lawyer qualifications but can utilize their expertise and continue working in line with the project's purpose."

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