We are pleased to share that Attorney Bom Lee of our firm was recently featured in a national news report examining the growing challenges of court interpreting in South Korea. The article, published on April 3, 2026, highlights the systemic gap between Korea's legal terminology and its accurate conveyance to foreign defendants — a gap with direct consequences for the fairness of criminal proceedings.
Attorney Bom is a graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE) and holds a rare dual standing in the Korean legal system: she is both a practicing attorney and an officially appointed court interpreter at the Seoul Central District Court. This combination positions her uniquely to identify and address the linguistic and legal blind spots that can undermine a defendant's right to a fair trial.
"If you literally translate quasi-rape or quasi-forcible molestation with 'quasi,' the defendant may not understand the charges. In English-speaking jurisdictions, most of these fall under the same sexual violence category, yet the differences are often not properly explained during interpreting. Inaccurate interpreting breeds misunderstandings in trial proceedings and can lead to fairness disputes."
— Attorney Bom, as quoted in the report
The article draws attention to the fact that as Korea's foreign resident population surpasses 2.7 million, the number of foreign defendants appearing in Korean courts has reached a record high — with 6,316 foreign defendants sent to trial in 2025 alone. Against this backdrop, quality court interpreting is no longer a peripheral concern but a matter of substantive justice.
Attorney Bom's commentary in the report underscores what she brings to every case: not only legal expertise, but a precise and nuanced understanding of how meaning travels — or fails to travel — across languages in high-stakes legal settings. Her work ensures that clients, regardless of their language background, are fully informed of the charges they face and are equipped to exercise their right to defense.
To read the article, please visit https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-society/2026/04/03/4UICMEWA4FHRPKINVKNVXIMLUI/