No Hiring for Counseling Positions in 3 Years... Legal Aid Corporation Counseling and Reservations Also Difficult
Published 10 Apr.2025 07:06(KST)
Only 13% of Counseling Staff Positions Filled
Difficult Access for Digitally Vulnerable Groups
The Korea Legal Aid Corporation has not hired a single counseling staff member in the past three years. It has also become more difficult to make in-person counseling appointments, raising concerns about reduced accessibility for digitally vulnerable groups such as the elderly.
According to data submitted by the Korea Legal Aid Corporation to Joo Jin-woo, a member of the People Power Party, no Grade 7 counseling staff were hired from 2022 to 2024. There were also no counseling staff hires in the first quarter of 2025.
As of 2020, the counseling staff quota was 136, with an actual workforce of 107.5, reflecting a 79% fulfillment rate. However, this number has sharply declined each year to ▲85.5 in 2021 ▲68.5 in 2022 ▲50.5 in 2023 ▲31.5 in 2024. As of March 2025, the Grade 7 counseling staff quota stands at 131, but the current active workforce is only 17.5, resulting in a fulfillment rate of just 13% compared to the quota. Short-term workers are counted as 0.5 of a person.
The reason the corporation is not hiring counseling staff is due to severance pay. The corporation explained, "The decrease in workforce is due to maintaining vacancies to improve severance pay accrual rates, promotions to higher ranks, and resignations. However, after establishing a reasonable compensation system to enhance financial soundness, we plan to promptly fill the vacancies."
In addition to the shortage of counseling staff, the corporation is also facing a lack of counseling expertise. When hiring counseling staff, the corporation awards extra points to those holding legal-related certifications such as lawyers, judicial scriveners, and certified labor consultants, but there is a shortage of qualified personnel. Among various certified professionals, the number of counseling staff with judicial scrivener qualifications was 2 in 2020, maintained at 4 from 2021 to 2024, but dropped to only 1 in 2025. A lawyer in Seocho-dong, Seoul, who requested anonymity, said, "Most clients' cases involve a mix of civil, family, criminal, and administrative issues, so if the initial response at the frontline counseling desk is inadequate, the case inevitably becomes prolonged," adding, "There is a need to enhance the expertise of counseling staff."
The corporation’s '132 Legal Counseling Call Center' operates to provide solutions for urgent legal issues, but the corporation’s website states that "telephone counseling is only available for simple matters." More complex issues must be resolved through in-person counseling, which is difficult to access without an appointment. Since May 2020, the corporation has operated in-person counseling strictly by prior reservation. Initially, appointments could be made up to two months in advance, but from 2025, the reservation period has been drastically reduced from 6 days to within 12 days. Citizens seeking counseling must access the online reservation page or call the corporation every day at 9 a.m. Competition for appointments is fierce due to the severe shortage of counseling staff.
The corporation stated that it operates a separate 'priority reservation window' for vulnerable groups, and that on average, 2 out of 12 daily counseling sessions per counselor are handled through this priority window. However, with the reduced workforce, even this has become difficult.
In fact, the total number of counseling cases handled by the corporation has been decreasing. From 1,277,453 cases in 2020, it dropped to 1,184,692 in 2021, 1,107,880 in 2022, and 1,015,122 in 2023. In 2024, it further declined to 958,659 cases, marking about a 25% decrease in counseling cases over five years.
Kim Ji-hyun, Legal Times Reporter
Seo Ha-yeon, Legal Times Reporter
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