Yulchon and Onyul entered into a business agreement with the Daum Foundation to assist with its non-profit startup incubation work whereby Yulchon and Onyul provide necessary legal aid and initiate projects to improve the legal system for the non-profit sector. We meet with non-profit startups on a weekly basis to provide them with comprehensive guidance on various legal issues such as incorporation procedures, fundraising, compliance with copyright laws and privacy protection issues. Through this legal advice, Yulchon and Onyul provide a back-office function for a number of non-profit startups to help strengthen them from their inception.
Press Release →
Yulchon and Onyul conduct various legal research and reform projects in support of marginalized individuals including the disabled, children, and underprivileged families and work to assist public interest entities such as non-profit organizations.
Onyul has actively engaged in efforts to implement the Adult Guardianship Program, including by conducting research on both domestic and foreign laws, and hosting academic events and interactions with scholars and other experts. Onyul has annually hosted Adult Guardianship Seminars since 2013. In 2020, Onyul hosted the 8th Onyul Adult Guardianship Seminar: “Guardianship and Trust” in a webinar format.
Seminar Material →
Since July 2016, the Onyul Adult Guardianship Support Center has been appointed as a corporate guardian in 27 cases to support the ability of individuals with cognitive disabilities to lead socially integrated lives. Onyul is currently exploring the means by which to fully implement the Adult Guardianship Program on a country-wide basis throughout Korea.
Some individuals with developmental disabilities, and senior citizens with dementia who need the help of a guardian, may lack either relatives to provide help or sufficient resources to support themselves. Onyul actively supports the implementation of a Public Guardianship Program that will enable the realization of a society in which even individuals lacking decision-making capabilities are not disadvantaged.
○ Onyul advises on public guardianship services provided for the developmentally disabled, the intellectually disabled and those with dementia, and supports the training of public guardians.
○ Onyul published the “Public Guardianship Operation Manual for Protecting the Rights of the Elderly with Dementia” (Ministry of Health and Welfare Research Project)
Public Guardianship Operation Manual →
Onyul supports guardianships with public interest implications by taking on certain guardianship cases or representing guardianship adjudication cases on a pro bono basis. Onyul collaborated with Seoul’s Yongsan District to advocate for the rights of the elderly with dementia who were left with inadequate access to care personnel during the early phases of Covid-19. These activities were selected as an Exemplary Collaboration Project.
Together with the Law Firm Public Interest Network, Onyul supports the severely disabled who are not legally registered through legal assistance such as supporting them in obtaining necessary permissions to establish new surnames.
Since 2009, Yulchon and Onyul have been supporting the Seed School, which is operated by a non-profit organization. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have transitioned our program to a virtual format and continued to support underprivileged teenagers to help them follow their dreams.
Seed School Website →
Since 2017, Yulchon and Onyul have offered a biannual internship program. This commitment emerged from a shared sense of mission with Seoul National University, namely that society should provide a more robust humanities education to the next generation.
Onyul took part in the “2020 Public Interest/Human Rights Activity Program for Law Students” in collaboration with the Seoul Bar Association, Korean Legal Clinic Conference, and Seoul National University School of Law. Law students participated in Onyul’s public interest activities to enhance their understanding of, and grow their interest in, the important fields of public interest and human rights activities.
The Yulchon Center for Legal Research (“the Center”) was established in 2015 as both Yulchon and Seoul National University Law School identified a need to conduct research on Korea’s foundational laws. The Center’s goal is to further develop the scholarship on foundational law so that it can become a field that better develops and stays in step with the evolving Korean legal regime and Korean culture.
A 2018 article authored with support from the Center’s Young Scholar Research program won a Young Scholar Award from the Korean Association of Civil Law (Sang Hoon Lee, “Intervention in Others’ Lives and Restitution: A Judicial Review”, Korean Journal of Legal History 60th Issue, 2019).
The Yulchon Legal Research Series publication “A Roman Law Banquet” , published in 2019, was further selected as one of the Representative Research pieces of the year in the Seoul National Law Research Institute’s 2019 Annual Review.
No. | Date | Topic | Lecturer |
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23rd | 2020. 09. 22 | “Self-Determination of the Developmentally Disabled from a Coalition Perspective” | Do Hyun Kim, Researcher, Nodeul Disability Studies Institute |
24th | 2020. 10. 27 | “Law and Philosophy: Their Interrelationship” | Young Min Chang, Professor Emeritus, Ewha Womans University Law School |
25th | 2020. 11. 26 | “Identity vs. Legal Identity: From Natural Person to Artificial Intelligence” | Gun Woo Kim, Professor, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology |
26th | 2020. 12. 03 | “The Multi-layered Composition of Gender Violence over Cancellation of Marriage” | Da Hye Chang, Researcher, Korea Institute of Criminology |
27th | 2020. 12. 08 | “The Politics of the Memories Surrounding the Punishment for the Historical Distortion Act” | So Young Lee, Professor, Jeju National University |
Yulchon and Onyul support both small business owners who are suffering from Covid-19 restrictions and the economically vulnerable, such as teenagers in multicultural families and the elderly who live alone, through the “Warm Lunch Box for Neighbors” program. This is a mutually beneficial support program to provide meals to teenagers from multicultural families who are likely to skip meals due to virtual learning at home with working parents and, at the same time, generate revenues for local restaurants that are suffering from economic hardship.
Since 2013, Yulchon has been supporting Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), an organization that addresses international issues related to refugees and multi-national corporations, by providing a donation equivalent to the salary of one (1) public interest lawyer.
During Covid-19, Onyul reduced its budget for its 2020 annual conference and instead donated these funds to the underprivileged in Seoul’s Yongsan District, such as the elderly who live alone.
Yulchon has an ongoing program to employ disabled individuals through the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled (“KEAD”). Since 2010, Yulchon has cooperated with KEAD to analyze the types of tasks best suitable for disabled individuals and to place disabled individuals in those positions. In recognition of these efforts, Yulchon received a Presidential Citation in 2015 and was selected an “Outstanding Employer of Disabled Individuals” in 2014 and 2017. For this project, in 2019 Yulchon became the only law firm that received a Presidential Citation for Job Creation and was selected as one of Korea’s Top 100 Employers with the Best Working Environment. Currently, Yulchon employs 14 disabled individuals in various positions.
Yulchon offers a basket of soap flowers made by the disabled as a birthday gift for its professionals’ spouses as part of its collaboration with the Wooriplus Service Center, which is affiliated with the Vocational Rehabilitation Center in Seoul’s Gangnam District. Going forward, Yulchon will continue to seek opportunities to support the disabled in achieving economic independence as members of Korean society.
Onyul’s vision is to create a better world of “law with a heart,” where legal professionals contribute their legal knowledge to society, so that all members of society may enjoy full access to the benefits of the legal system.
President
Chang Rok Woo
Directors
Dae Wook Bang, In Bo Song,
Yong Pyo Yeom, Sai Ree Yun, Su Yeon Lee
Auditor
Sang Woo Song
Attorney
Kwang Yeol Bae, Ye Hyeon Lee, Kyu Hae Jeon
Staff
Jun Il Nam, Mi Young Lee, Yoo Mi Seo
Public Legislation Team
Adult Guardianship Team
Global Social Contribution Team
Educational Support Team
Legal Content Team
Crime Victim Support Team
Community Services Support Team
General Affairs Team
Onyul is a caring community where individuals contribute their talents. Since its establishment, Onyul has focused on developing the legal system in response to emerging societal issues, such as the legal framework for adult guardianship, researching toward a system that does not disadvantage adults who lack decision-making capacity, the need for an improved legal framework for public interest work, and research on foundational legal theory, as well as legal education and youth mentoring. Onyul has also provided support for the marginalized during times of crisis. The name “Onyul” means “law with warmth.” At Onyul, we will continue to reach out to the underprivileged with a heart and consideration for their underserved legal needs and to contribute resources and efforts toward building and restoring the public trust in the legal system. We would like to ask for your continued generosity and support for this important endeavor.
Thank you.
Since its establishment, Yulchon’s top priority has been to provide clients with excellence in legal services through commitment and innovation. In this way, our overarching goal as legal professionals has always been to contribute toward building a better society. Yulchon’s public service efforts are aimed at our goal of “creating shared value” which is unique to Yulchon. This goes beyond the standard social responsibility obligations to which other law firms ascribe. Our expression of this vision was the establishment of Onyul, which we set up in 2014. It is our hope that the ongoing collaboration between Yulchon and Onyul will be instrumental in promoting the public interests of our society as a whole, and thereby helping to build a better society.
Thank you.