In recent years most of correctional experts in Korea have worried about a "crisis in corrections" which followed a dramatic increase in prison population during the last four years since IMF impact. According to the Government's statistics, right after the economic crisis in 1998 the number of inmates has been increased almost 14.7%, achieving a record number surpassing 68,000 which is comparable to average number of inmates (58,000) during the last seven years(1991-1997)(Korea, The Ministry of Justice, 2001). Therefore, I am concerned about this crisis of correction and give a serious thought on what determines the incarceration rates. This study examines the determinants of Korean incarceration rates in an international perspective during the last ten years(between 1992-2001). Multiple measures of crime, economics, social characteristics, demographics, ideology and culture, sentencing and parole policy reforms, alternatives to corrections, and institutional conditions are evaluated in light of their ability to account for the variation in incarceration practices. The analysis will reveal that some of the variables above mentioned are associated with imprisonment. I assume that the four factors having the greatest direct impact on incarceration in korea will be the crime rate, sentencing and parole policy reforms, and institutional conditions.