Praised for identifying the point of the controversy and high comprehension level and rational defense for the logic of both sides

Kang Chang-oh (9th class) won MVP with the best defense plead

"I wish to realize legalism and manifest national interests as an attorney"

[August 21, 2017]

The YU Law School (Dean Kim Chang-hee) won the grand prize at the recently held mock administrative court contest.

The winning team was the 'Wonyung Muae' team comprised of first-year law school students of the 9th class - Kang Chang-oh (41), Baek Chang-ho (37), Jung Gi-yeon (34), Jang Jae-ik (31), Jin Hyeong-wook (33), and Ji Ja-ram (31). Kang Chang-oh also received the MVP award given to the most outstanding participant in the contest.

 This was the second time that this contest was held and it was hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and co-sponsored by the Korean Bar Association, Korea Legal Aid Corporation, Korean Association of Law Schools, and the Law Times.

In this contest, which was comprised of preliminary reviews of the trial outline and the main mock administrative court contest, a total of 112 people from 16 teams from 13 law schools around the nation competed. After preliminary reviews, a total of eight teams from seven law schools including YU, Korea University, Seoul National University and Sungkyunkwan University competed in the final contest.

The theme of the final contest held at the courtroom of the Sejong Central Administrative Judgment Commission on the 20th of last month was the 'Appeal to Retract Suspension of Doctor Licenses'. The participants randomly picked to defend the 'consulting' team to accept that appeal of the claimant to support them and the 'dismissal team' that judged the administrative disposition to be lawful and feasible. The two sides debated fiercely over the issue.

The YU team made their defense for 'dismissal' in both trials against other teams. All of the team members received good reviews from judges due to their high level of comprehension on the issues without being geared too much to one side, as well as the logic for both sides, and made their defense in a rational manner. In particular, the YU Law School stood out even more as they participated with the least number of team members at six people.

 The team members said, "It helped a lot to not lean towards any single logic of consulting and dismissal, while being sufficiently prepared for the issue and taking on a rational approach for both logics." The added, "All of the team members had deep understanding for the legal principles for both dismissal and consulting, and we changed roles and held numerous rehearsals, making it possible for us to react logically regardless of whether we were on the side of dismissal or consulting during the contest."

Kang Chang-oh, who won the MVP at this contest said, "During the contest, I realized that there is a big difference in writing what I learned in textbooks with expressing it in words by applying it in the field. During the process of making the defense by applying it in the field, I thought about carefully the positions of the opposing sides and made my approach carefully, making it possible to perceive the issue with a balanced and rational perspective without leaning too much to any single side." He added, "With this award that I did not expect, I have become a lot more confident as well. I believe that this short experience will be a valuable asset for me in the future as a lawyer."

They said, "While we are still lacking in skills as future lawyers, Dean Kim Chang-hee and Former Dean Keum Tae-hwan, as well as the other law school professors' advice and encouragement were huge help. In particular, the professors of administrative law helped us with writing our paper and preparing our defense, and their help is what led us to receive this award." They added, "Our team name 'Wonyung Muae' is a Buddhist terminology and it means 'coming together to make harmony'. While we expressed opinions from different angles and made legal arguments in court, we would like to contribute in creating harmony with the common goal of realizing legalism and promoting national interests."