International Bar Association heads to Seoul

Beating competitive bidders Tokyo and Hong Kong, the International Bar Association chose to establish its first Asian headquarters in Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Korean Bar Association said yesterday.

Established in 1947, the International Bar Association represents 40,000 lawyers and 197 bar associations and law societies across the globe. Its administrative office is in London and has regional offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Seoul was chosen as the IBA’s Asian headquarters at the International Bar Association Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas, on Feb. 26. It will be the IBA’s third international office.

Other competitive Asian countries, including Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, joined the bidding, but Seoul received the highest scores in the fields of international communication, human rights, commodity prices and residential facilities, the Seoul city government said.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korean Bar Association worked together to bring the international legal association to Seoul.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon promoted Seoul and promised the city’s support to IBA Executive Director Mark Ellis on his visit to Seoul in July 2010.

The Korean Bar Association said the IBA’s Asian headquarters will play an important role as a legal policy maker in Asia.

“With the nomination of Seoul as the Asian headquarters, more legal international conferences will be held in Seoul and this will help Korean lawyers to get the latest news and information about international law,” an official at the Korean Bar Association said.

The International Bar Association hosts more than 30 annual international legal conferences with international legal experts who share information and ideas on the latest legal issues. According to city officials, the IBA’s Sao Paulo office hosts six such conferences each year.

“The Seoul city government will use this opportunity to transform Seoul into a hub for legal networks in Asia,” said Kim Jin-man, a senior official at the city government’s international cooperation affairs bureau. “It will also improve Seoul’s global urban competitiveness by developing the city’s conventions, culture and tourism.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]

Related Korean Article[머니투데이]
서울시 최종 선정 발표

세계 최대 국제법조인단체인 세계변호사협회(IBA)의 아시아 본부가 서울에 들어선다.

서울시는 지난 26일(현지시간) 바하마의 수도 나소에서 열린 `세계변호사협회 이사회`에서 IBA 아시아 본부로 서울이 최종 선정됐다고 28일 밝혔다.

변호사업계의 국제연합(UN)으로 불리는 IBA는 세계 197개 국가의 변호사 단체를 대표하는 연합체로 영국 런던에 본부를 두고 있다. 세계 정의실현 촉구, UN을 비롯한 국제기구에 대한 법적 활동 등을 지원하고 있다

김진만 서울시 국제협력 과장은 "서울은 국제적 의사소통과 인권, 물가, 거주환경 등의 분야에서 함께 경합을 벌인 싱가포르와 동경, 홍콩 등에 비해 높은 점수를 얻었다"며 "이번 유치를 통해 서울을 아시아지역 법조계 네트워크의 허브로 발전시킬 것"이라고 말했다. 이어 "매년 IBA가 주최하는 30여개 국제회의 중 일부를 서울에서 열 수 있어 컨벤션 및 관광산업에도 큰 기여를 할 것"이라고 덧붙였다.