Here is an interesting AmLaw post on the Korean government seeking to deregulate legal services and end restrictions on nonlawyers investing in and providing legal services. The key excerpts say:
“The Korean government is planning a major deregulation of the nation’s legal and other professional services markets, the Korea Herald reports.
At a government meeting Tuesday, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun explained the move as a way to boost employment in the high-value services sector.
“The government will lower entry barriers to the professional service market to spur competition and to boost the size of the market,” Yoon said.
A number of measures aimed at reducing regulation have been recommended to the government by the Korean Development Institute, a think tank. Perhaps most controversially, the KDI has proposed that non-lawyers and conglomerates be permitted to own stakes in law firms. The institute has also recommended an end to restrictions on lawyers, patent agents and certified public accountants practicing together.”