Speaking from Hong Kong during a LAWASIA conference last Thursday, LCA president Tim Bugg said he had only just had breakfast with the Korean bar and a number of other bar associations in the region, at their invitation.

During the meeting, Bugg discussed international legal services, along with Australian free trade experiences with the US. But as yet, there are no concrete plans to gain Australian lawyers greater access to the Korea.

“The Korean market is a bit more challenging for us,” Bugg said from Hong Kong.

“I certainly made it very clear what Australia’s position is on this. We have a very open market ourselves and would like to see the same prevail with other countries in the region,” he said.

To that end, Bugg raised the work he has been doing on behalf of the LCA over the past six months, including visits to China, the US and Malaysia.