This article aims to analyse the current academic discussion about restorative justice paradigm and pragmatic efforts to make it into the institutional devices in Korea. Beginning with the history of academic discussion, it examines the related theo...
This article aims to analyse the current academic discussion about restorative justice paradigm and pragmatic efforts to make it into the institutional devices in Korea. Beginning with the history of academic discussion, it examines the related theoretical, practical issues and critically comments on the practical programs which is introduced or about to be institutionalized by the Government.
Now in Korea the major issues on disputes are those : (1) the concept of restorative justice, that is, purist model v. maximalist model, (2) which relation should be established between restorative justice programs and the traditional criminal justice system, (3) what kind of program is more suitable for what kind of crime in Korean criminal justice system.
Despite of the affluent discourses during the past 10 years, the author suggests that the discussion should concentrate more on the practical issues than on the purely theoretical ones and that the restorative justice programs, such as victim-offender mediation, family group conference, should be more fruitfully activated.