College of Law, Department of Law fourth-year student Han‑ul Jeong won first place in the '2012 International Human Rights Moot Court Competition' and received the top prize, the Minister of Justice Award.

Jeong recently participated in the competition held at the Ewha Womans University Law Building as a member of the team 'LAWSPES', formed with Kim Na‑ra (Kyung Hee University) and Hwang Hyo‑jeung (Soongsil University), whom she had met while working as a student reporter for the Supreme Court.

In the competition, which drew undergraduate and graduate students nationwide and selected the top eight teams for the finals based on the preliminary written round, the LAWSPES team received praise for presenting persuasive arguments from both the State of Ethiopia's perspective and the refugee's perspective on the forced repatriation following the illegal entry into Ethiopia of an Arab woman from South Sudan.

In the semifinals, which featured four teams including two from Yonsei University's College of Law and one from Ewha Womans University, the LAWSPES team faced a Yonsei law team and argued from the State of Ethiopia's standpoint. In the final, they engaged in a fierce courtroom battle against another Yonsei team.

The judges who observed the proceedings praised the LAWSPES team for its flashes of legal ingenuity and for the very strong logical development of its arguments.

Judge Bok‑hee Jang (member of the Ministry of Justice Refugee Recognition Council) said, 'The team composed of Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) student Han‑ul Jeong and others seemed so well prepared that I felt they knew more about refugees than the Ministry of Justice officials responsible for refugee matters,' adding, 'As long as we have talents like these, I expect the future of our country's refugee law and human rights law to be bright.'

Han‑ul Jeong said, 'This competition was a valuable learning experience in which I could learn the noble spirit of respect for human rights,' and expressed her aspiration: 'I will live the life of a legal professional who examines issues with cool reason while retaining warm sensibility and a heartfelt commitment to respect for human rights.'

Meanwhile, JBNU had Law School student teams win this competition for two consecutive years through last year. In addition to the Minister of Justice Award, winners receive the additional benefit of an overseas international human rights training program.