‘Korea Family Legal Counseling Center’, Korea’s first private legal aid organization, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
The Family Law Counseling Center, founded by the late Tae-young Lee in 1956 under the name of the Women’s Legal Counseling Center, is famous for starting ‘legal counseling’ in Korea.
At the time, our activity began by providing free legal counseling to people who had been wronged but were having financial difficulties and were unable to find their rights due to lack of knowledge of the law.
The legal aid activities that began in this way expanded their scope to include reconciliation and mediation, preparation of documents such as complaints, and litigation rescue support.
As of the end of 2025, the legal aid activities that the counseling center has conducted over the past 70 years total 2,148,38 cases, including 85,690 cases of reconciliation and mediation, 15,168 cases of document preparation, 12,445 cases of litigation aid, and 2,027,535 cases of legal consultation.
Including legal counseling handled by branches across the country between 1966 and 2019, the number of legal aid activities provided by counseling centers exceeded approximately 4.53 million.
The counseling center evaluated itself by saying, “Based on the legal aid project, we have been carrying out unrivaled activities in the field of legal welfare in our society by conducting a family law revision movement that completed the abolition of the family law system, a movement and education program to make the law a part of everyday life to reform consciousness, and research projects to prevent family problems and find alternatives.”
During the 70 years that the counseling center has been active, the types of counseling have also gone through many changes along with the social situation.
From its founding until the 1960s, the rate of counseling for the resolution of common-law marriages was high, and the reasons for divorce were often related to the spouse's infidelity and conflict and friction with the spouse's family.
In the 1970s, counseling for marital conflicts increased rapidly, and as the fate of a spouse was not confirmed even after a dozen years, such as during the Korean War and Vietnam War, and miners dispatched to Germany, the number of cases of divorce counseling due to the spouse's unknown fate increased.
In the 1980s and 1990s, wives who complained of husband violence often visited counseling centers. Husbands who sought divorce counseling due to their wives running away from home to avoid this situation also went to counseling centers.
In the 2000s, as the recession continued following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis, many people who were contemplating divorce due to economic issues volunteered for counseling.
In the 2010s, divorce counseling has become more common for abstract or difficult-to-prove reasons such as loss of affection, loss of communication, and personality differences, rather than specific reasons such as violence, infidelity, or economic conflict.
In the 2020s, consultations related to old-age divorce, support, wills and inheritance, and adult guardianship are on the rise.
The counseling center looked back on past counseling activities and said, "Over the past 70 years, there have been many political, economic, and cultural changes in our society, and these changes were clearly reflected in the characteristics and reasons for counseling of clients who visited the counseling center."
The counseling center will hold a ceremony commemorating its 70th anniversary on the 9th at the counseling center hall in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
At the event, President Lee Jae-myung's spouse Kim Hye-kyung and National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik congratulated the 70th anniversary of the founding with a video congratulatory speech. Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae of the Supreme Court, President of the Constitutional Court Kim Sang-hwan, and President of the Seoul Bar Association Cho Soon-yeol will attend the ceremony and deliver congratulatory remarks in person.
Following the screening of a video showing the footsteps of the 70th anniversary, Counseling Center Director Baehee Kwak looks back on the counseling center's 70 years and presents a vision for the future.
The counseling center awards commendations to 50 people who have made dedicated efforts to the counseling center's legal aid project. Appreciation plaques will be awarded to 46 people who have contributed, including 22 lawyers from the white lawyer group of the counseling center, 6 volunteers, and 18 national business cooperation organizations, including lawyer Cheon Jeong-hwan, who devoted himself to litigation rescue and night counseling.
Professor Kim Sang-yong of Chung-Ang University Law School, Professor Emeritus Jang Hee-sook of Sungkonghoe University, writer Lee Hyun-hye, and director Seo Dong-il and writer Jang Cha-hyeon are awarded a plaque of merit.
To commemorate the founding, a free exhibition by artist Eunhye Seo will be held on the first floor of the counseling center until the 16th.
