우리나라 상사법 교육의 방향과 과제

This paper reviews the direction the legal education in Korea regarding commercial law and corporate law is currently taking and which to where it should move under the new law school system. This paper also reviews the scope, contents and methods of such legal education. The statute governing the establishment of law schools in Korea provides to the effect that a law school education aims to nurture professional lawyers who are equipped with ethics, knowledge and competence and who are able to provide quality professional legal services. The direction of legal education in Korea in the fields of commercial law and corporate law should be determined taking into consideration the legislative intent of the statute, the rapidly changing characteristics of commercial law and corporate law and the level of expectation for those from law school. The scope of commercial law and corporate law education should not be limited to concentrating on the Commercial Code but, instead expanded to cover newly emerging areas such as financial law and also include interdisciplinary issues. With respect to educational materials, it is advisable to use court precedents as basic teaching materials. The writing of legal scholars should also be used to enhance critical thinking and learn areas where there is little or no court cases to provide guidance. Teaching methods should not be intended to simply to deliver knowledge on legal theory or the conclusion of court cases but to enable students to analyze cases and legal theory, apply the theory to actual cases and find solutions. Strengthening the students’ understanding of legal principles and their ability to analyze cases and apply legal principles would become the basis for developing the practical skills of lawyers. Certain issues such as how to use the legal clinic to supplement legal education on commercial law and corporate law need to be reviewed further. It is advisable to use, in addition to lectures, assignments and feedback from professors, tests and feedback from professors and students’extracurricular activities, to supplement the limited time resources for classroom teaching and improve the effectiveness of teaching during class hours. In order to enhance the effectiveness of teaching, both professors and students need to exert considerable effort. In light of the strong desire to learn expressed by students under the new law school system in Korea,the methods of education proposed in this article are likely to increase the burden on professors. It is based on my belief that law school professors should be dedicated to teaching as much as research.