Issues and Problems of the Parole System in Korea
This study discusses current status and issues of parole in Korea. In theory parole is designed to give inmates another chances of reintegration and rehabilitation outside the wall of prison. It is implemented in the form of administrative decision by the parole reviewing committee and the parolees are released under the supervision of mandatory probation. In practice, however, there are some problems to achieve the objectives of reintegration and rehabilitation. The most critical problem is about the eligibility requirement. Only the offenders who have served most of their term would be eligible for parole, regardless of their degree of rehabilitation or corrections. Second, because the parole review is divided into two separate processes for juveniles and adult offenders, an unnecessary overlap of administrative procedures hinders the efficient function of correctional administration. To remedy these problems, a few recommentations are followed.