Abstract

Juvenile crime in Korea is becoming increasingly vicious and sophisticated. In the last five years, the crime rate of 'juvenile delinquents' has been steadily increasing even as the population of juveniles has been steadily decreasing, and public sentiment and opinion have begun to recognize that 'light punishment' for juvenile offenders is the cause. In October of last year, the Ministry of Justice finally accepted this public opinion and announced a plan to lower the age of criminal responsibility. However, the attitude of lowering the age standard for juvenile offenders and broadening the criteria for those to be punished can be seen as a traditional concept of retributive justice. The main problem of such punitive retributive justice is that the criminal process is centered on the perpetrator and not the victim, and other problems such as increased correctional costs, saturation of prison facilities, and increased recidivism rates. As an alternative dimension, the concept of 'Restorative Justice', a new concept that puts the victim's recovery at the center of the judicial process, is emerging around the world. In Korea, systems related to restorative justice began to be applied to the justice system for the first time in the 2000s, but there are many deficiencies in the juvenile justice system in Korea, and it is still in its infancy compared to developed countries where restorative justice is well established. This study analyzes the current status of restorative justice in Korea and foreign restorative justice systems, and suggests ways to improve restorative justice in the juvenile justice system by deriving specific measures to introduce restorative justice.