"First Law": A Career Guide for Young People Aspiring to Become Lawyers

Many young people still don't know what they're interested in, what career they want to pursue, or what makes them happiest.
This is because there is a severe lack of information about the variety of academic subjects available outside of school subjects and the types of jobs available after graduation.


Bommajung's "Career Classes for Teenagers" series was designed to help teenagers discover their aptitudes and plan and design their future.
Following "First Geography," the fourth book published, "First Law," is written by Professor Kim Hee-gyun, who teaches at the Seoul City University Law School. It explores the history of law, the meaning of the Constitution, the attitude of a legal professional, and what the true "rule of law" means, and provides a detailed and friendly explanation of the process of becoming a legal professional.

There are two laws in the world.
One is the law of nature, the other is the law of man.
--- p.14

In this way, by looking at the constitution, which is the highest law of a country, we can understand the nature and characteristics of that country's legal order.
This means that you can tell what kind of country it is and what kind of country it pursues just by looking at its constitution.
A legal scholar once said that if you change just three words in the law, the country will become a completely different country, which refers to this characteristic of the constitution.
Our country is a democratic nation based on the principle of "popular sovereignty" and aims to guarantee "freedom and equality," according to the Constitution.
--- p.21

Although the law is always around us and intervenes in our social lives, it is not usually a big problem because people do not break the law or follow the law well.
So we may not be aware that we are legally entangled.
Then, when a problem arises, like the Botox case we saw earlier, the law comes to the surface and we have to go to court.

--- p.30

Our country, which was under Japanese rule, also encountered Western law through Japan.
And when the Republic of Korea was established in 1948, a law that could be said to be a carbon copy of Japanese law was enacted and is still in use to this day.
This is the reason why Chinese laws such as the Tang Code and the Great Ming Code, as well as our own laws such as the Gyeongguk Daejeon of the Joseon Dynasty, did not become part of our legal system.

--- p.39

The Greeks and Romans had different personalities.
If the Greeks had a rich imagination, the Romans had quick calculations.
For this reason, the Greeks are called the right-brained people, and the Romans are called the left-brained people.
Rome studied deeply how to establish relationships between people.
Many famous jurists were produced, and they played a very important role in solidifying the order of Rome.

--- p.45

The Gyeongguk Daejeon is divided into six sections: Jeon (former), Hojeon (war), Yejeon (former), Byeongjeon (military), Hyeongjeon (political), and Gongjeon (public).
The former is the law concerning personnel, the latter is the law concerning taxes, the former is the law concerning national consciousness, the former is the law concerning national defense, the former is the law concerning criminal punishment, and the former is the law concerning national construction.
In addition to these laws, the king's orders were added to suit each era.
In other words, the Gyeongguk Daejeon is a collection of national basic laws and royal decrees.
--- p.60

Originally, law was a means of governance.
The people are governed by law, and even the king does not make laws to keep them.
This is the same thing when you look across the sea to France.
France did not consider that even kings should obey the law until the French Revolution broke out in the late 18th century.
The significance of Magna Carta is already sufficient simply by the fact that it was attempted 600 years earlier.
--- p.75

We need to keep in mind the saying, 'The Constitution is both law and reality.'
It is important to understand the Constitution accurately and make efforts to implement it as written in the Constitution.
We must become faithful guardians to ensure that the Constitution, which our ancestors painstakingly created and protected, is fully capable of guaranteeing the basic rights of the people.
--- p.87

If the purpose of the Constitution is to protect the people's human rights through the rule of law, the purpose of criminal law is to punish crimes and provide fair trials.
In other words, it can be said that the goal of criminal law is to punish crimes through fair procedures.
--- p.92

Today, it costs the state tens of millions of won a year to imprison a single criminal.
Because we need to provide them with a good space, distribute necessities, and provide them with three meals a day.
Sentencing defendants to prison and sending tens of thousands of people to prison every year is not something just any country can do.

--- p.107

In the name of contracts, many people are forced to do work they don't want to do for very little money.
The need for government intervention has become urgent, not only in employment contracts and lease contracts, but also in product purchase contracts.
Otherwise, people will be forced into unfair contracts.
--- p.126

Law also has its charm.
Law is one of the subjects that is good to study and use, like history, literature, business, and economics.
But law has another advantage besides that.
The thing about law is that it is used in more places and in a wider range of fields than other fields of study.
In the case of national institutions, governments, and public institutions, work itself cannot be done without laws.
So we need a lot of people who know the law.

--- p.135

The judge should not be distracted by anything else.
Just focus on making objective judgments.
The career and experience accumulated in this way become a competitive edge that no one can easily obtain.
No wonder they say that judges are God's work.
After you take off your judge's robe, you can become a famous lawyer and make a lot of money.
Because the judge's sense is not something that can be easily bought.
Until then, the judge must be prepared to endure loneliness.
--- p.148

The fact is that the prosecutor is not the defendant's enemy.
It is the prosecutor's duty to punish the accused who committed a crime, but at the same time, it is also the prosecutor's duty to protect the accused who did not commit a crime.

--- p.151

Compared to judges or prosecutors, lawyers have very clear duties.
It's about doing your best for your clients.
There's nothing else to think about.
Just do your best to defend yourself as the law allows.
All remaining responsibilities fall on the state and society.
A lawyer only needs to see one client.
--- p.155

The purpose of law is ultimately one.
Law is a discipline that serves humanity.
It is the dream of legal scholars to dream that humans will be born into this world and live more freely and more peacefully.
When studying the existing law, one cannot help but wonder whether this law is indeed correct, and then one cannot help but dream that such a law should exist.

--- p.162