IP & Art

Today's international notary seminar was held with a tight schedule. From 9 in the morning to 6:20 in the afternoon, except for a short break, all the presentation were going very fast.  The welcoming remarks from the Chinese side were delivered by the Chinese Vice Minister of Justice and the mayor of Xi'an, which gave a somewhat authoritative atmosphere. It, however, was fortunate because simultaneous interpretation was provided.

Through this event, I was able to confirm that China is surprisingly interested in the notary system. Although China is emerging as the G2, it has not yet escaped backwardness in society as a whole, and it was felt to induce the notary system to contribute to restoring its credibility internationally. Around 2005, when the Notary Public Act was introduced, the number of notaries public was only 13,000, but its social role was seen to be significant.

On the other hand, there are about 300,000 lawyers in China, so notaries appear to have a relatively higher social status than lawyers (of course, my opinion). In the case of lawyers, the intensity of work is strong. Therefore, it seems that notary public is quite popular as some prefer notary public to lawyer in terms of the relatively low workload of the notary public. If they pass the same exam as the Korean bar exam, they can become either a lawyer or a notary public according to your choice. In general, they prefer lawyers, but in the case of women, they say that they prefer notaries with low income but relatively low work intensity.

The president of the International Notary Association was Spanish, so the president gave a greeting and then a full-fledged seminar session was held. The seminar introduced the notary systems of each country in the order of Japan, Indonesia, China, Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam. Notaries from Germany and France also attended as guests and explained their own systems. The main interest was the discussion of the electronic notary system, which has been upgraded with new technologies.

In Japan, only judges or prosecutors with more than 30 years of experience apply as a notary public at the age of 59. He/She retired from public service at the age of 60 and was immediately appointed as a notary public. Therefore, it was surprising that a judge or prosecutor who did not have 30 years of experience could not become a notary public. Currently, the number of notaries in Japan is about 500. Among them, there were only five female notaries. A female notary was present at the event, and she served as a prosecutor for 30 years and became a notary public. 

In Indonesia, they can work as a notary public after completing a master's degree in law and undergoing certain tests and internships. Surprisingly, the majority of the Indonesian delegations are women. The female notary presenting  was very impressive in terms of  her excellent English speaking skills. Indonesia seemed to have a deep interest in enhancing international competitiveness and in the global market.

In China, among those who have passed the bar exam, if they are 25 years old or older, then they that would choose a notary public job, after completing internship at a notary office, would become a notary public. It is said that it is impossible to work concurrently with a lawyer once they become a notary public.

The case of Mongolia was interesting. All notaries participating in this international event were women. When asked why, he said, "There are about 300 notaries in Mongolia, but there are absolutely a lot of female notaries." However, a male notary public agreed to attend this event, but he was unable to come due to circumstances. There are about 5,000 lawyers.

The case of Vietnam is somewhat peculiar. To become a notary public, you must have a bachelor's degree in law and receive training at a notary's office. Currently, there are about 2,000 notaries in Vietnam. The number is expected to increase to 8,000 in the near future. Vietnam's dynamism was expressed as it was expected.

In Cambodia, which is not yet an official member state, but attended as observers, they had about 2,000 lawyers, but only 61 notaries. However, I was looking forward to seeing a vibrant future for Cambodia, which would have a lot of development potential.

I, as a presenter, made a presentation about the electronic notarization system in Korea. I took the time to introduce Korea's electronic notarization in detail. In the case of Korea, electronic notarization was introduced in 2010. Electronic notarization was possible, but there was an inconvenience in that the client had to attend the notary office in person. To resolve this inconvenience,  June, 2018, the video notary system was introduced, so there is no need to come to the notary office.

Although it is still in the early stages of its introduction, the market response from the user was not bad and the future will be  bright. 

I expressly added “I am delighted to announce the electronic image notarization system that opens a new world of notarization in the digital age in Xi’an, the starting point of the Silk Road in the past,” 

The Asian notaries who attended seemed to be envious of Korea. It was a precious time that gave me a deep sense of honor and pride as I confidently introduced the development of Korea, which is leading the digital era.

The notary system of developed countries in Europe was also interesting to hear. In the case of Germany, it was showing a more cautious attitude to the introduction of electronic notarization. The reason is the suspicion of the reliability of the electronic notary system. Regarding this, the author said, “Now is the era when the online world is closer to reality. The entry into a new era of electronic notarization is more meaningful than anything else. I would like to inform you of posted of the upgrade of the video notary system.”

And my brief presentation was followed by applause of encouragement by the floor. 

Now, in the digital age, Korea felt proud to be in a leading position in other countries in international events. As it was an event in a rather authoritative country such as China, the seminar seemed more academic than expected. And the presentations and enthusiasm of the notaries representing each country were hot. After finishing the tighter and more passionate seminar schedule than I expected, my whole body was almost exhausted.