Under the Special Act for the Punishment of Domestic Violence, Chapter II, Section 3 (Protection Orders), Article 40 (Decision, etc., for Protective Disposition), a judge may order a protective disposition that restricts the offender's access to victims or family members in person or through telecommunications, restricts parental authority, order social service or lecture attendance, be placed on probation, entrusted into custody in protective facilities (under the Prevention of Violence Act), or entrusted into medical institutions or counseling centers.
Similarly, under Chapter III (Victim Protection Orders), Article 55-2 (Victim Protection Orders), a judge may issue a victim protection order ruling the removal of the offender from a room with victims or family members, denial of access within 100 meters from the residence or place of work of victims or family members, denial of access to victims or family members through telecommunications, or restriction on the exercise of parental power.
Further, under Chapter V (Penal Provisions), Article 63 (Noncompliance with Protective Disposition, etc.), if a domestic violence offender fails to comply with the protective disposition or a victim protection order or an ad hoc protection order, the offender will be punished with up to two years in prison or a fine of KRW 20 million.
Under the Special Act for the Punishment of Domestic Violence, Chapter I (General Provisions), Article 1 (Purpose), the purpose of the act is "to restore the peace and stability of a family destroyed due to crimes of domestic violence, maintain a healthy family environment and protect the human rights of victims and their family members … ." In addition, Article 1-2 (Basic Idea) of the Prevention of Violence Act, provides that the "victims of domestic violence will have the rights to be respected for human dignity and security by swiftly escaping from the damaging situation."[6] The provision was newly inserted in December 2017. In this regard, although protection from domestic violence is not expressly provided as a human right in the statutes of Korea, it is generally and implicitly regarded as one type of human right for the purpose of Korean laws.
South Korea does not appear to be invited to sign as a nonmember of the Council of Europe.[7]
N/A
Not at this time.
South Korea has ratified the 1979 Convention.[8] Under the recently amended Special Act for the Punishment of Domestic Violence (amended on 20 October 2020),[9] domestic violence crimes now include home invasion, noncompliance with eviction and crimes of illegal filming. A number of other protective and preventive measures were introduced, including the possibility of attaching orders to the perpetrators to complete domestic violence treatment programs in court sentences. South Korea has been criticized by the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for focusing on maintaining the integrity of the family rather than protecting victims, as evidenced by Article 1 of the act,[10] as well as not defining in statutory law the concept of marital rape.[11] The CEDAW recommended:
extending the [Act's] applicability to same-sex couples or families and all women, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity; abolish the system of suspending charges in home protection cases on condition of undergoing counselling or training on domestic violence, and prohibit the use of reconciliation and mediation in such cases; ensure that perpetrators are criminally punished under statutory sanctions; and adopt a policy of mandatory arrest for crimes of domestic violence in cases in which restraining orders are breached
To date, Korea has not fully addressed the criticism and the recommendations of the CEDAW in its amendment of relevant laws.