2019-01-31 06:00
Kim Ye‑won is a solo nonprofit lawyer who runs the Disability Rights Law Center in Seoul, dedicating her practice to people with developmental disabilities, disabled children and women who struggle to access legal help. Her work is visceral and public: she once removed her prosthetic eye in court to plead for the maximum sentence in a case where a five‑year‑old child was blinded, and she has represented clients under extremely constrained conditions through extensive pro bono work. The center operates on minimal resources — the Seoul Bar Association provided office space — and Kim combines strategic litigation with direct client advocacy to advance disability rights and accountability.
Her career is inseparable from motherhood. As a mother of three, she has brought infants into court when childcare was unavailable, famously breastfeeding a 50‑day‑old in the courtroom to avoid missing critical hearings. Kim candidly recounts regrets about placing her first child full‑time in daycare at 82 days and explains that as a self‑employed public interest lawyer she could not take extended leave for later children, forcing practical choices that many working mothers face. Her visible actions sparked strong reactions — surprise from judges, solidarity from fellow women lawyers, and public admiration that she treats as ordinary necessity rather than heroism.
Kim’s personal history shapes her commitment: she lost sight in one eye due to a medical accident, earned law school on full scholarship, and entered public interest work through experiences at Dongcheon and the Seoul Disability Human Rights Center before founding her own center in 2017. Supported by a like‑minded husband who is a judge, the couple regularly donates a portion of their income to charities; Kim channels the rest of her time into client work, household routines she calls a hobby, and relentless fieldwork that keeps her deeply engaged with clients’ lives. Her practice demonstrates a pragmatic, embodied approach to legal advocacy — one that melds lived experience, parental responsibility and tireless pro bono service to protect society’s most vulnerable.
Original source: [W 인터뷰] 장애인권법센터 김예원 변호사 “아이 안고 변론하는 것도 ‘복’이죠” (Source: the news outlet; please refer to the original article.)
