On June 27, KICJ convened the ‘2023 Criminal Justice and Legal Policy Conference on National Policy Tasks’ in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency. The event was held at The-K Hotel Seoul.

Commencing with the opening speech from KICJ President Dr. Tae-hoon Ha, congratulatory remarks followed from Dr. Hae-Gu Jung (Professor at Korea University Law), Chairperson of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Joo-Won Rhee (Professor at Korea University Law), President of the Korean Criminal Law Association; Dr. Byoung Ho Jung (Professor at University of Seoul Law), President of the Korean Association of Civil Law; and Dr. Gyung-Young Jung (Professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law), President of the Korean Commercial Law Association.

Seok-Woo Kim, Director of the Criminal Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, and Sung-Ju Park, Head of the Department of ICT and Equipment Policy at the National Police Agency, also delivered welcoming remarks.

In his opening speech, President Ha stated that the “Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice is the only national research institute on criminal justice and legal policy, identifying relevant national policy tasks and addressing social issues. We believe that examining the implementation of national policy tasks is one of our responsibilities as well. Reflecting such concerns, this policy conference aims to examine proposals and suggestions for key policy tasks.”

Former Judge Sang-Hyun Song of the International Criminal Court delivered the keynote speech on ‘assisting national policy tasks in a rapidly-evolving domestic and global landscape.’ The afternoon sessions, divided into two sessions on criminal justice and legal policy, had various experts participating in presentations and discussions.

The criminal justice session addressed recent issues that have received national attention such as illicit drug use, stalking, mass gathering safety, and virtual assets, as well as adoption of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and victim protection. Chief Prosecutor Wan-hee Hong of the Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office discussed current trends of illicit drug use in Korea and overseas, and introduced the drug investigation system of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, emphasizing the need for stronger international cooperation and the importance of both rehabilitation and prosecution. Seung-hak Lee, prosecutor of the joint investigation team on finance and securities crime at Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, spoke about the accusations made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the Terra Luna crash and limits of criminal sanctions. KICJ Senior Research Fellow Dr. Han-Kyun Kim spoke on revising the legislative framework for victim protection, policy directions of the government including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and strategies for systemizing victim protection.

The legal policy session addressed timely topics such as civil law reform, jeonse fraud, international investment disputes, business law revision for introducing online shareholders’ meeting, foreigner policies, and human rights policies, with academics, experts, and other stakeholders from relevant institutions attending. Prof. Jong Hee Seo of Yonsei Law School discussed a general guideline for civil law reform such as contract law, property law, support and bestowal systems to better address technological advances such as AI and digital content, and an aging population.