International Association of Korean Lawyers Annual Conference in Seoul, South Korea

Left: Korea Law Center Faculty Director and Professor of Law Sung Eun ("Summer") Kim presenting the Korea Law Center's Korean Lawyers in America Project (KLAP)

Right: “The Braiding of Legal Education and Legal Professions Across Multiple Jurisdictions” Panel including Professor Hwang Lee, Kenneth Hong, Professor Summer Kim, Professor JaeWon Kim, and Sophie Paeng

The Korea Law Center traveled to Seoul to attend the International Association of Korea Lawyers (IAKL) 2025 Conference. The conference, held from September 24 to 27 at Korea University, brought together legal professionals of Korean descent and those with interests in Korea from around the world to build professional relationships and promote social justice.

Korea Law Center Faculty Director Professor Sung Eun (“Summer”) Kim, alongside Professor Hwang Lee of Korea University, Professor JaeWon Kim of Sung Kyun Kwan University, Kenneth Hong from H&H Lawyers, and Sophie Paeng from Squire Patton Boggs, presented on a panel titled “The Braiding of Legal Education and Legal Professions Across Multiple Jurisdictions.” The speakers explored how changes in legal education and professional practice have shaped and influenced Korean lawyers across the U.S., Australia, and Korea.

UC Irvine Law alumni and former Korea Law Center Legal Research Associate Allison Yoo attended the IAKL Conference in Seoul and shared the below reflection on the experience.

This summer, I attended the 2025 IAKL conference in Seoul. As a recent law graduate, it was inspiring to be surrounded by Korean attorneys who have built diverse and impactful careers worldwide.

One highlight was the panel, “The Braiding of Legal Education and Legal Professions Across Multiple Jurisdictions,” which showcased the Korean Lawyers in America Project (KLAP) that I was a part of during law school. I also enjoyed reconnecting with lawyers and mentors I had met previously, while making new connections with Korean lawyers from around the globe, all of whom generously shared their advice and words of encouragement with me.

What stood out to me the most was seeing lawyers from different backgrounds come together through their shared Korean heritage and commitment to the legal profession. I left Seoul feeling grateful for the opportunity to engage with such an active and supportive Korean legal community.

UC Irvine Law alumni and former Korea Law Center Legal Research Associate Sophie Paeng shared the below reflection from the Korea Law Center’s visit to Seoul National University.

On September 24, 2025, members of the Korea Law Center also visited our partners at the Seoul National University School of Law’s Public Interest & Legal Clinic Center (SNUPLC) to discuss the two schools’ collaborative research projects. Korea Law Center Faculty Director Professor Summer Kim, Korea Law Center Program Assistant Juli Ramirez, and UC Irvine Law alumni Yujin Choi and Sophie Paeng represented the Korea Law Center at this meeting with professors and supervising attorneys from SNUPLC.

One area of partnership includes joint research, funded by the SNU Diversity Council, which studies the policies providing support for LGBTQIA+ students on U.S. university campuses. SNU students and KLC Legal Research Associates will conduct the research together under supervision of Professor Ari Waldman of UC Irvine Law. The Seoul National University (SNU) research team includes Professor Kae-young Choi, lead researcher of the project, and Professor Yoon Jin Shin and SNUPLC Supervising Attorneys Jaeho Lee and Dasol Lyu. The goal of this project is to find policies that SNU can implement to support LGBTQIA+ students on its campus. This marks the second collaboration between UC Irvine Law and SNUPLC.

Research Fellow Alumni Spotlight: Eun Jean "Esther" Kye

Eun Jean "Esther" Kye is a 2024 graduate of UC Irvine Law School and an associate at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. Esther currently practices in the firm’s Privacy + Cyber Practice Group, focusing on Fair Credit Reporting Act and data breach litigation, drafting foundational privacy compliance documents, and analyzing regulatory and legislative changes to advise clients.

During law school, Esther served as a representative of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, the Orange County Korean American Bar Association, and as pro bono chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a researcher at a North Korean human rights advocacy organization and Seoul National University Asia Center.

Esther joined the Korea Law Center as a Research Fellow in 2022. Some of her favorite memories from her time with KLC include planning the ‘K-Drama & Crime Drama: A Comparative Perspective’ panel with APALSA at UCI and liaising with Southern California Korean American Bar Associations to celebrate Judge June An, the first Korean American woman judge at the Orange County Superior Court. Both events allowed Esther to connect different organizations with KLC, strengthening the Korean American legal community. The K-Drama & Crime Drama panel also facilitated meaningful cross-cultural discourse about the role of law enforcement and provided a platform for Korean LL.M. students to share their expertise with UCI students.

Chuseok Celebration

Left: Hansori at UCI performing

Right: Members of the Korea Law Center gather to celebrate Chuseok together

The Korea Law Center community gathered at Vista Bonita Park in University Hills on October 3, 2025, to celebrate the Chuseok holiday. The celebration brought together Visiting Scholars and their families, UC Irvine Law community members including J.D. and LL.M. students, and friends of the Korea Law Center for an afternoon of food, music, and community.

Guests enjoyed a variety of traditional and modern Korean dishes, including ddeok and Korean-style pizza in a festive atmosphere. The event also featured a lively performance by Hansori at UCI, a student-run organization at UC Irvine, which performed traditional Korean drumming known as pungmul and samulnori.

Community Celebrations and Accomplishments

Top Left: UC Irvine Law Vice Dean Trilby Robinson-Dorn with Judge Richard Lee at the UCI Celebration of Teaching

Top Right: UC Irvine Law LL.M. student Miyoung Sim, J.D. student Serapia Kim, and UC Irvine Law alumni Betty Kim and Sophie Paeng at the APAWLA 2025 Installation Dinner

Bottom Left: J.D. student Serapia Kim and other scholarship recipients attend the Shades of Mass Conference

Bottom Right: Students from UC Irvine Law attend the National Law Students Workers' Rights Conference

On September 18, 2025, the Honorable Judge Richard Lee was honored at the UCI Celebration of Teaching with the 2025 Deans’ Honoree Award for the UC Irvine School of Law. Judge Lee has served on the Orange County Superior Court since 2010 and is a lecturer at UC Irvine Law where he teaches Trial Advocacy. As one of the Korea Law Center's most important and generous advisors, Judge Lee was the first Korean American judge to serve in Orange County.

At the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Association (APAWLA) Installation Dinner on October 9, 2025, UC Irvine Law alumni, former Korea Law Center Legal Research Associate, and Managing Associate at Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LPP Betty Kim was presented the the Leadership Award in recognition of her professional excellence and community service.

UC Irvine Law J.D. student and KLC Legal Research Associate Serapia Kim received the National Plantiffs' Law Association Scholarship to attend the Fourth Annual Shades of Mass Conference in Los Angeles, CA (Sep. 4-6, 2025). The conference supports attorneys of color leading mass tort and class action lawsuits. As a student looking to pursue a career in plantiff-side litigation, Serapia appreciated the networking opportunity and learning about litigation strategy, client advocacy, and justice-oriented work.

Serapia also received the Peggy Browning Fund's National Law Students Workers’ Rights Conference Scholarship to attend the 28th annual conference in Baltimore, MD (Oct 17-18, 2025). Serapia and other students had the opportunity to meet hundreds of lawyers, organizers, like-minded students and explore the future of workers’ rights and workplace justice lawyering.

We would love to connect with you! If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to the Korea Law Center at klc@law.uci.edu.

The Korea Law Center is supported by charitable gifts and contributions, if you would like to donate to the center you can do so here: Give to UCI.