A Study on History of Criminal Policy in Korea

한국(韓國)의 형사정책(刑事政策)에 관한 역사적(歷事的) 고찰(考察)

During the ancient times, there was no separative judicial system and administrative , legislative and judiciary functions were ultimately concentrated in the all-powerful monarch. And the three states developed state organization , adopting hieratical structures and placing at the pinnacle . State Codes were promulgated to initiate a legal system to rule the people, these codes instituted under influence of China codes. The people tradition sees crime control as the preservation of the authority of hereditary rulers. In the period of the Koryeo dynasty, government accepted a serious of detailed penal code from Tang dynasty . Legal response to crime stressed preservation of the dynasty rather than making citizen behave according to certain rules. In the period of Early Joseon , the compilation of Grand Code for state administration was initiated, the Kyeongkuk Taejeon ,became comer stone of the dynastic administration and provided the monarchial system with a sort of constitutional law in written form. This national code was in portant means of criminal policy at that time, Late Joseon , the impact of Western culture entering through China gave further impetus to pragmatic studies which called for socio-economic reforms and readjustment. Approach to criminal justice policy emphasized more equitable operation of the criminal justice system ,rehabilitation and crime control. Korea-Japanese Treaty concluded on 22 August ,1910 and proclaim a week later ,Japan gave the coup de grace to the Korea Empire and changed the office of the Resident - General into the Government - General . Thus korean criminal policy were lost during a dark ages ,which lasted for 36 years after fall of Joseon Dynasty (the colnial period,1910${\sim}$1945). After 1945 Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the occupation of devided Korea by the United States and Soviet Union frustrated the efforts of Koreans to establish an independent government, and the transplantation of two conflicting political ideologies to south and the north of the 38th parallel further intensified the national split. U.S. military government office occupied the south of the 38 the parallel and placed emphasis on democracy of criminal policy. ln 1948, the U.S. military government handed over to the ROK government its administrative authority.