officials, prosecutors and judges, as well as guidelines for adequate application of the
law. Domestic violence is characterized by the special environment of family and can be
a serious criminal action that can threat lives, therefore law enforcement officers should
be educated to understand its nature.
27. Child abuse preventing mechanisms as well as human resources are insufficient as
300 counsellors from 44 specialised institutions are in charge of follow up,
rehabilitation, prevention, and indictment process for 10,490,534 (Statistic Korea 2008)
children.
28. 80% of child abuse take place inside family environment but legal protection
mechanism for children are slow and prosecution is possible only in case of serious
after-effects. Moreover, there is neither a legal basis nor a professional organization for
the rehabilitation and correction of offending parents, and awareness building efforts are
limited.
29. Presidential Decree of the Primary and Secondary Education Act stipulates that “…
alternative measures of discipline and admonition should be used, and no physical pain
should be inflicted on students unless inevitable for educational purposes,” leaving the
possibility of corporal punishment and providing no systemic training for non-violent
discipline methods. There is no institutionalized parents’ education to change perception
about corporal punishment, and courts leniently punish guardians in case of corporal
punishment by tacitly recognizing its disciplinary value. More than half of the schools
have not adopted any measure to oust corporal punishment.
30. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive measures to improve current court
system, designate professional institutions for counselling and rehabilitation, and
revigorate education and awareness building in order to promptly protect child victims
and correct perpetrating parents. Additionally, prohibition of corporal punishment need
to be stipulated in legal terms and policies institutionalizing non-violent disciplinary
measures training for teachers, parents, social workers and legal officials should be
established.
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