Law School

The trend towards comparing and integrating legal systems in the interest of globalization is increasing across all regions. In Europe particularly, discussions on the formation of a "jus commune" (common law) have been ongoing for several decades. This movement has recently begun to gain attention in East Asia as well. For over the past decade, Korea, Japan, and China have been actively conducting comparative research in many areas of law. This can be understood as an attempt to discover, reevaluate, and transplant the "global standard of law" developed in the West into East Asia. The study of comparative laws between East Asian countries is not only useful in interpreting each country's legislation and rules, but in the long term it will also have a positive impact on the formation of an East Asian economic community and, through this, the maintenance of peace and security in the East Asian region.

As the first step towards this goal, training research personnel in the fields of law and political science in East Asia will then nurture future generations of the academic field in Korea. Furthermore, the results of research on East Asian law and politics can contribute to supporting the development of legal systems and legal culture in neighboring Asian countries, such as through legal institutional cooperation and legislative support projects for other Asian countries (especially those developing countries).

The Institute of East Asian Law & Politics aims to play a role in conducting more three-dimensional and effective comparative research by systematically promoting comparative research on the law and politics of East Asian countries and observing how legal fields respond to the changing law-political landscapes of Korea, Japan and China through interdisciplinary research of law and political science.

Through its direct and indirect ties with the CAMPUS Asia Program, a student exchange program between prestigious universities in Korea, Japan and China that has been running with government support since 2012, the institute is taking the lead in promoting research activities and human exchange programs related to East Asian law and politics. Through these activities, we will form an academic network with various Asian legal research centers at home and abroad, and become a leading institute in East Asian legal studies.

Thank you.

Chul KWON, Director, Institute of East Asian Law & Politics