At the 48th Judicial Research & Training Institute’s graduate ceremony held on the 14th, Lee Jae-ha (30), who graduated from YU, received the Minister of Justice Award by graduating second in his class. He will begin working as an attorney at Korea’s top law firm, Kim & Chang.
Mr. Lee, who graduated from the YU College of Pharmacy in February of 2011, was formerly a pharmacist. He worked as a pharmacist in Gimhae, Gyeongnam for about one year from February 2013. In March 2014, he quit his job and began studying and he completed the law school credits on his own. Finally, in 2016, he passed the 58th bar exam coming in second place.
Mr. Lee, who could have lived a comfortable life as a pharmacist, decided to go take the bar exam because of his thirst for dialog and debates. He said, “I had a thirst for dialog and debate and I regretted not living harder back in school. I decided that I had to challenge something before I lost my passion.” He added, “It was tough preparing for the bar exam, but while studying law, I learned about cases that wisely resolved various problems in society and established a standard for judging what is right and what is right. I started to find joy in that I was becoming a better person every day.”
We had to wonder his secret to studying as he now had acquired not just one, but two professional licenses that are difficult to obtain. He said, “I think efficiency is the most important thing in studying. You have to make the frame focusing on the most important parts and repeatedly review them, and once you feel that you have your frame, you should study the details. Preparations for the test are very important as well. I practiced the entire process of the test and I made algorithms on how to behave for each stage of the test. I also uploaded a video on my study tips related to the Judicial Research & Training Institute on YouTube last year, so it may be helpful for people preparing for record-type legal tests.”
He also said that he too had fears about not passing. This is because the bar exam was scheduled to be abolished in 2017 and there were not many opportunities to take the test. Lee explained, “I am sure that people preparing for tests or employment even at this moment have concerns about failing. Some may fail, but you should think that the process itself will upgrade you.” He went on, “However, you should not be afraid of accurately identifying your aptitudes and interests to supplement and revise your directions.”
We also wanted to know about his plans for the future as a pharmacist-slash-attorney. Mr. Lee said, “I believe that my experience as a pharmacist, though short, will help me work on areas such as intellectual property rights and regulations at the law firm. I am especially interested in TMT (technology, media and telecom) fields related to pharmaceuticals, medical instruments and the fourth industrial revolution. I hope to work in specialized fields at the law firm, find my area of interest and gain expertise.”
