Through McGeorge School of Law’s Visiting Scholars Program, the school is currently hosting five South Korean visiting scholars who are conducting law-related research. The program enables McGeorge to host international scholars, professors, judges, and practitioners from all over the world.

Seunghun Jo is originally from Changwon, Kyeongsangnamdo. He has a Bachelor of Laws from Kyungnam University in Masan, South Korea. Jo’s research focuses on comparative approaches to guardianship and family relationship documentation in the U.S. and Korea. He is a court official for the Changwon District Court. His paper “Securing the Integrity of Records in the Family Relations Register and Protecting the Legal Stability of the Party's Status” focuses on family relation registers.

“The Family Relations Registration Act aims to simplify the reporting procedure to reduce the burden on the public and promote reporting. However, it can inevitably cause a consequence related to one’s identity,” Jo said. “I study whether there is a way for the court to maintain and protect the position of the person from a guardianship standpoint.”

After the program, he plans to travel throughout America and return to his job in Korea.

The Hon. Insun Woo traveled to the U.S. from Seongnam City, South Korea. She has a Bachelor of Law from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea. She decided to participate in the Visiting Scholars Program at McGeorge because of the school’s international reputation. Woo serves as a judge for the Supreme Court of South Korea. Her research focuses on enabling the use of a debtor's cryptocurrency to repay creditors.

“The results of this study are expected to present a perspective on appropriately recognizing virtual currency in terms of civil execution,” Woo said.

 After completing the program, she hopes to implement research results swiftly.

Yeonho Lee is originally from Seoul, South Korea. He has a Civil Law degree from Kyungpook National University in Daegu, ‎South Korea. He initially heard about McGeorge School of Law’s Visiting Scholars Program from a work colleague. Lee serves as a director in the Civil Compulsory Execution Division at the Seoul Southern District Court. At McGeorge, he is researching security interests under the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9.

“The goal of my research is to recognize the problems laid bare while adopting and enforcing the Act in Korea, and to suggest improvement measures from the practical perspectives through a comparative study on the uniform security right measure of the U.S.,” Lee said.

The title of his paper is “Civil Compulsory Execution in Real Estates and Claims and the Like.” After the program, Lee will continue to do in-depth research on the topic.

Jeong Eun Oh traveled to the U.S. from Seoul, South Korea. Oh received a Bachelor of Art Law from Chosun University in Gwangju, South Korea. She came to McGeorge to engage in comparative research on breach of duty and ensuing liability of public officials in Korea and the U.S. She studies U.S. laws and precedents on the liability measure specifically when the harm is caused by public officials during their duties to another party. Her goal is to find out efficient ways to cover public officials' individual or federal liabilities and responsibilities.

“I examine the applicable standards, procedures, and precedents for individual civil servants in the U.S., and what scope of compensation is appropriate not only for the relief of victims but also for the state and civil servants,” Oh said. “My anticipated outcome would be the comparison analysis between the U.S. procedure and Korean procedure, and potential application aspects as a result.”

Mikyung Kim is originally from Seoul, South Korea. Kim received her bachelor’s degree from Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, and came to McGeorge to engage in research on comparative approaches to preserving political neutrality in prosecution in the U.S. and Korea. Kim is working on a paper titled, “A Comparative Study on the Prosecution's Political Neutrality.”

“I aim to examine whether the common measure can be drawn up to ensure the political neutrality of the prosecution in the US and Korea,” Kim said. “I seek to thoroughly organize the institutional system and efforts in Korea for preserving the political neutrality of the prosecution.”

While at McGeorge, visiting scholars receive support from the Graduate, Online, and International Programs Office. Visiting scholars have access to the campus library and research databases. Visiting scholars attend student and faculty events, present their research at a Visiting Scholars’ Roundtable, and audit a minimum of one course each semester.

For more information about McGeorge School of Law, visit our website.

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