Key NHRCK Activities
F. Recommendation on the juvenile justice system
On July 12, the Commission recommended that the Minister of Justice delete status offenderrelated provisions from the Juvenile Act and find alternative ways to guarantee juvenile welfare,
cases, revisit the relevant regulations to ensure that the principle of separating juveniles from
adults in detention is complied with, and institutionalize safeguards for juveniles’ right to object
provisional actions provided for under Article 18 of the Juvenile Act.
Part 1 Introduction
strengthen juvenile’s right to be represented in juvenile criminal cases and juvenile protection
The Juvenile justice system must be administered in line with its intended purpose, which,
considering that children are in their developmental stage, is not to just punish and control
juveniles but also to support their recovery from crime and reintegrating into the society, while
under the jurisdiction of a court because of concerns that they might commit a crime even though
they haven’t committed one. Also, the principle of separation of adults from juveniles is not
always properly implemented. As such, there had been calls from both home and abroad that the
current juvenile current system is failing to protect juveniles.
Specifically, the Commission found that the provisions in Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 1 of
Article 4 of the Juvenile Act is counter to the non-discrimination principle as, unlike adults, young
Part 2 Key NHRCK Activities
their rights are guaranteed. However, Korea still maintains provisions on status offenders who are
offenders who have not committed an apparent crime are taken into custody just because of the
be counter to the principle of statutory reservation and the principle of due process; the provisions
are conducive to manipulation and abuse when used in combination with the notice system where
guardians or heads of schools, social welfare facilities, or probation offices can refer a case directly
to a court without routing it through the police or prosecution for investigation; and the Committee
on the Rights of the Child recommended that status offender provisions be abolished. As such,
it concluded that the provisions should be removed and replaced with alternatives that are more
considerate of juvenile welfare.
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Part 3 Appendices
possibility of delinquency; the reasons for custody order are unclear to the extent that they may