범죄피해자 보호·지원을 위한 과제

Abstract

In the traditional criminal justice system, the victim of a crime has been treated like a person forgotten from the criminal justice case and like a surrounding subject, and crime victims have been treated as subjects of simple evidence collection instead of victims. Crime victims until now have not only been denied access to the investigation and trial processes despite being a victim, but have had difficulty receiving a genuine apology or compensation from the wrongdoer. Victims still have to fight along against the government and wrongdoers. Even if they win the fight against the government and wrongdoers, they only receive a small amount of money in return. In order to solve such problems, in 2004, the Ministry of Justice established Crime Victim Support Centers in each of the 55 Prosecution jurisdiction areas, as part of the ‘Combined solution to strengthen protection and support of crime victims.’ Since then, in 2005, large efforts were put into protecting crime victims through revision of the Crime Victim Protection Law, which can be called the charge of crime victims’ rights, and in 2007, through revision of the Criminal Procedure. National and local self-governed body responsibilities were made mandatory in the Crime Victim Protection Law, and case procedure result and notification and the right of a victim’s statement in the trial process, which were insufficient in the past, were added to the Criminal Procedure. In addition, 55 Crime Victim Support Centers nationwide are carrying out various activities mainly through volunteers, such as criminal victim counseling, legal and medical support, reconciliation mediation and financial support. However, there is still a lack of crime victim protection compared to leading western countries due to lack of human resources and funds. Therefore, the government must step up in the future to realize social justice that promotes protection of crime victim rights and benefits.