NCJ Number
227595
Date Published
1998
Length
213 pages
Annotation
As a means of facilitating international cooperation among nations in criminal justice matters, this book describes Korea's criminal justice system.
Abstract
A section on "Function and Organizations" describes the organization and functions of the Ministry of Justice, the justice system, and the Public Prosecutor's Office. Regarding the justice system, the traditional legal system has existed throughout Korea's history, which encompasses some 5,000 years; however, when Korea adopted the Western legal system in the late 19th century, judicial functions became separate from administrative power. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court were established separately. Constitutional power is divided into three branches: the Administration, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. The Ministry of Justice belongs to the Administration and is thus separate from the Judiciary. The second section of the book pertains to "Crime Statistics and Analysis." It provides data and analysis for general trends in various crimes, the disposition of criminal cases, the treatment of offenders, alternatives to imprisonment, protection of intellectual property rights, and drug crimes. A third section describes Korea's "New Approach for the Investigation and Prosecution" of crimes. Issues discussed are scientific methods of investigation, the expanded use of computers and technology in the investigation and prosecution of cases, international cooperation, and new criminal policy for juveniles. The concluding section of the book, which is entitled, "Criminal Justice System," presents an overview of the system and outlines criminal procedure. Korea's Code of Criminal Procedure is based on the inquisitorial system of the Civil Law, which was established in 1954 and was fully revised in January 1997. In addition, the fundamental concepts and principles of the Common Law (the adversarial system) have been incorporated into the Korean criminal procedure. Extensive tabular data