KBA: Number of Practicing Lawyers Surpasses Patent Attorneys by Sevenfold, Accountants by 1.7 Times... Market Saturation Point Exceeded
by Choi Taewon
Published 21 Apr.2026 16:25(KST)
Updated 21 Apr.2026 16:48(KST)
KBA Urges Bar Exam Pass Limit of 1,500 or Fewer for 15th Test
The Korean Bar Association (KBA) announced domestic and international market analysis data on April 21 and urged the Ministry of Justice to set the number of successful candidates for the 15th Bar Examination at 1,500 or fewer.
According to the KBA's public release, "Status of Professional License Holders as of 2026," the number of registered lawyers stands at 38,235, which exceeds the number of patent attorneys (11,293), judicial scriveners (7,968), tax accountants (17,369), and certified public accountants (28,141). The gap widens even further when looking at those in active practice. There are 32,168 practicing lawyers, which is about seven times the number of practicing patent attorneys (4,861), about twice the number of practicing tax accountants (16,573), and more than 13,000 above the number of practicing accountants (10,959).
The ratio of practicing lawyers to total registered lawyers is 84.1%, significantly higher than other professions such as certified public accountants (67.7%), patent attorneys (43.0%), real estate agents (19.9%), and administrative agents (2.3%). This indicates that the vast majority of those who have qualified as lawyers are entering the market and actively working.
The KBA also criticized the policy divergence compared to the accounting sector. The Financial Services Commission has reduced the minimum number of certified public accountants to be selected for two consecutive years, from 1,250 in 2024 to 1,200 in 2025, and to 1,150 in 2026. The number of practicing accountants (10,959) is only about 60% that of practicing lawyers (32,168), and the average income per person is higher for accountants (122 million won) than for lawyers (106 million won). Despite the relatively better circumstances in the accounting sector, supply adjustments are being made, while the Ministry of Justice has never attempted to reduce the output of new lawyers, according to the KBA's criticism.
The indicators for the lawyer job market are rapidly deteriorating. The average number of cases handled monthly per lawyer dropped sharply from 6.97 in 2008 to 1.05 in 2022, and job postings at public institutions in 2025 are expected to decrease by 24.7% compared to 2021, with overall job postings down by 18.7%. According to the National Tax Service, the median income for lawyers is 30 million won, ranking lowest among all professional occupations.
The KBA argued that even by international standards, South Korea's output of lawyers is unusual. Compared to Japan, whose population is about 2.5 times larger, the number of newly registered lawyers per one million people in Korea is four to six times higher than Japan's. From 2021 to 2024, Korea maintained 34 new lawyers per one million people, while Japan remained at 6 to 8. Despite the fact that the size of Korea's legal market (14.6 billion dollars) is only one-third of Japan's (45 billion dollars) and one twenty-sixth of the United States (378.5 billion dollars), the number of new lawyers being produced in Korea has surpassed these countries.
Structural issues were also highlighted. The KBA stated that the number of people served per lawyer and adjacent legal professional in Japan is 8.5 times that of Korea. Korea runs both an Anglo-American-style law school system and a Japanese-style adjacent legal professional and civil servant recruitment system, resulting in a structural contradiction where both lawyers and legal professionals in adjacent fields are overproduced simultaneously.
The KBA also warned of dual pressures from population decline and the spread of artificial intelligence. The working-age population (ages 15 to 64) has already entered a decline, and experts predict that by 2030, 70-80% of lawyer duties could be automated. The number of lawyers has surged from about 10,000 in 2009, when the law school system was introduced, to 38,124 as of January 2026-a more than 3.8-fold increase in 17 years.
A KBA official stated, "The market saturation has already passed the critical point," and requested, "Along with setting the number of successful candidates at 1,500 or fewer, we call for a reduction in law school admission quotas, the abolition of the vacancy supplementation system, the consolidation of law schools, and the establishment of a consultative body between the KBA, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Justice for system reform."
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