A total of 162 Korean Americans and Koreans have become new lawyers, having passed the July 2023 California Bar Examination.
According to the list of passers released by the State Bar of California (SBC) on November 12, 162 of the 4,058 total passers are believed to be of Korean descent. This represents 4 percent of the total passers, one more than the 161 Korean-descended individuals who passed the bar exam in July of the previous year.
The list of 162 individuals of Korean descent was compiled by selecting last names and first names that are believed to be Korean from the entire pass list, a method that may not reflect the actual number of Korean-descended test-takers who passed.
Among the Korean-descended applicants were notable out-of-state and Korean residents, including Seung Hyun Paik (Seoul), Jinsung Lee (Yongin), Hwanoh Chung (Seongnam), Gyu Won Choi (Boston), and Da Eun Lee (Brooklyn).
Of the 4,058 total passers, 3,888 passed the General Bar Exam, and 170 candidates passed the Attorney’s Exam, which is for applicants licensed to practice law in other states.
In July, 7,555 candidates took the General Bar Exam, with 3,888 passing, resulting in a 51.5 percent pass rate—a 0.9 percentage point decrease from last July’s 52.4% pass rate. The previous lowest pass rate was 27.3% for the February 2018 exam.
Of the total test-takers, 5,083 were first-time test-takers, representing 67.3% of the total and achieving a pass rate of 64.8%, 13.4 percentage points higher than the overall average pass rate of 51.4%. There were 2,472 retesters, with a pass rate of 24.1%.
Last year, the pass rate for first-time test-takers was 62%, and for retesters, it was 17%, marking increases of approximately 3 and 7 percentage points, respectively. A total of 356 out-of-state attorneys applied for the exam, with 170 (47.8%) passing.
Comparing the total number of test-takers, there was a 5.5% increase from 7,164 last July to 7,555 this year. The average exam score in California is 1389, 16 points lower than the national average of 1405.
The California bar exam is administered annually in February and July. The list of passers is available at apps.calbar.ca.gov/exam/default.aspx.
BY HOONSIK WOO, JUNHAN PARK [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
