From Passive to Active: Enhancing Victims' Rights in Korean Criminal Procedure

Lecture in Korean

Image generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI (2025)

Jayeong Lee, Prosecutor, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office

Thursday, October 9, 2025
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

10383 Bunche Hall (10th floor)

In recent years, there has been a growing demand in our society that crime victims should not be regarded merely as passive objects of protection, but rather as subjects who hold the right to participate in criminal procedure.
Nevertheless, under the current Korean criminal procedure, the system still operates primarily on the adversarial structure between the prosecutor and the defendant, leaving the victim as an ancillary party rather than a formal participant. In practice, victims often face difficulties in exercising their substantive rights, such as being notified of the progress of investigations, attending trials, giving testimony, or expressing their opinions during proceedings. Thus, the current Korean criminal procedure is somewhat insufficient in guaranteeing the victim’s full participatory rights.
In this regard, Ms. Jayeong Lee will examine the victim’s right to participate in U.S. criminal procedure and, through comparison, reflect on the corresponding rights in Korea. The goal of this analysis is to promote greater procedural equality for victims and, ultimately, to support reforms that make Korea’s criminal justice system more victim-centered—thereby enhancing public trust in the system.

Special Instructions
Event is exclusive to CKS Visiting Scholars, graduate/undergraduate students, and faculty

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies