Korea’s Legal System

Ilhong Yun

Geography

 North-eastern Asia  Divided by North and South Korea  38,500 sq mi (Texas, 267,000 sq mi)  Between China and Japan  Surrounded by sea except north  70% of the land is mountain  Capital city is Seoul

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Population

 Ethnically homogeneous (Korean); no racial, linguistic minorities  48,000,000 (cf. Texas, 20,900,000)

Economy

 GNP per capita is 16,100 dollars  Major industries: electronics, automobiles, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles.

 One of the world’s largest economies the Asia’s Four Tigers in 1990s) (one of

Religion and Culture

 Buddhism: 10 million  Christianity: 12 million  Shamanism  Confucianism - more a moral philosophy than a religion - prominent element in Korean life

Religion

Culture

History

 5000 years of history  Numerous invasions from other countries  Japanese occupation (1910 – 1945)  Divided into South and North Korea by the USA and USSR occupying forces after the World War II  Korean war (1950 – 1953)

Government

 Tripartite system: executive, legislature, and judiciary  Single five-year term for presidency  Of the 273 legislative seats, 227 are from general elections, 46 are appointed by political parties

History of Legal System

 Choson dynasty (prior to 1910) - Chinese style legal system heavily influenced by Confucianism  - civil service exam Japanese occupation (1910 – 1945)  - civil law system (German model) Post Korean War (1950 – 1953) - adopt some American style law

Legal System of Asia

 Most Asian countries except South Asia belong to the civil law family; influenced by Germany, France, or Swiss  Recently, many countries in Asia are being influenced by the U.S.  Legal scholars seek to study in the U.S.

Civil Law System

 Statutory provisions oriented  No binding effects of precedents  Judges don’t make the law, but interpret nuances of law  Judges are free to fact-finding, less restricted by pleadings and rules of evidence

Judiciary

 Supreme Court  Five High (Appellate) Courts  District Courts  Constitutional Court

To Become a Lawyer

 College entrance exam  Four-year law college  SNU College of Law  Bar exam  700 of 9,000 law graduates go into legal profession annually

To Become a Lawyer

 Extremely competitive bar exam: passing rate is 2%  Law majors as well as other majors devote their time in college to studying for the bar exam   High social status of legal profession (tremendous prestige and financial security) “If you pass the bar exam until 40, you are successful”  Two-thirds of those who passed the bar exam were SNU law graduates

To Become a Lawyer

 Study only for the bar exam brings about tunnel vision  Young prosecutors, young judges  Exam-oriented college curriculum limits opportunities for well-rounded intellectual developments

Prosecutors

 Attached to the Ministry of Justice  Recent scandals due to political bias in handling cases  About 1,500 members of elite group  Attempts to curtail prosecutor’s discretionary power by judiciary  Police’s attempt to gain investigative authority from the prosecutor

Corrections

 Under the Ministry of Justice  12,300 staff members at 43 correctional facilities  Total inmates are 61,457 as of 2001, 130 per 100,000 population : U.S. 224 per 100,000  Age of criminal responsibility is 14  Capital punishment and life imprisonment are not allowed for those under age 18

Corrections

 Hanging is the method of execution  Major crime rate per 100,000 - murder: 2 (U.S., 5.6) - robbery: 11 (U.S.,145.9) - rape: 14 (U.S., 33) - theft: 362 (U.S., 2,445)

Police

 National police - a national headquarters, 14 provincial headquarters, 230 police stations, 2,912 police boxes (mini-station)  Supporting institutions - National Police College, Central Police Training School, Police Training Academy,, National Police Hospital

Police

 Bureaus in police headquarters - administration & planning, crime prevention, criminal investigation, public security & traffic, intelligence, national security  100,000 sworn police officers, 50,000 auxiliary riot control personnel, 5,400 civilian employees  Only 2% of female officers

Police Ranks

 11 rank structure from patrol officer to the Commissioner General  Those with the rank of Lieutenant and above are executive officers; comprise only 13.5%  Promotions through either a promotion exam or supervisor’s rating and recommendations

Police Use of Firearms

 Minimally allowed even when it is necessary  Can be justified when it is the only means to apprehend a criminal or stop an escape  About 300 cases of police use of firearms are reported annually

Problems of Police

 Low economic status of officers  Authoritative organizational culture  Image of police corruption  Poor public relations