Before establishing the criminal justice system, victims were central to and indispensable to the justice process. Victims could directly retaliate against the perpetrator or demand compensation for the damage. After the criminal justice system was established as part of the national system, victims lost status and rights toward offenders. They weren't able to ask for restitution or punishment directly. Offenders and prosecutors (representing the public or the nation) were central to the criminal justice system. Otherwise, victims were excluded from the system and usually asserted as a 'forgotten party.' During the 19th century, people realized that the traditional criminal justice system didn't effectively prevent crime. In the late 20th century, issues related to protecting women and child victims from attack or abuse were brought attention to the public, which led to the victim movement. The victim received social attention again. This global trend has also influenced Korea. Korea tried to introduce a system that protects victims, but these attempts still do not meet victim's needs or the public's expectations. This is why a study on the victim(or victimology) must go on despite numerous studies that have been done.
This study asserted that the criminal justice system should reflect victims' increased desire to participate in the criminal process. It introduced the Korean criminal justice system from the victim's perspective, starting with the investigation stage and ending at the trial stage by law and practice. After examining the problems, this study reviewed the improvement measures.
This study dealt with the investigation procedure, including the complaint system, notification system, victim lawyer system, and appeal procedure. As victims are not yet fully informed during the investigation, the officer should improve their attitude toward the victims' rights. Also, this study suggested enacting a law and utilizing the Korean Information System of Criminal-justice Services. The current law requires victims' requests to be notified in advance, which makes some victims hardly informed. Victims should be notified; otherwise, they ensure they don't want to. The victim lawyer system aimed to protect victims initially, but it still has not developed as an aid for victims' participation. To promote victims' participation in criminal procedure, all victims should ensure their right to legal assistance from a lawyer by revising the Criminal Procedure Act. Lastly, the current system does not guarantee the victim's right to appeal effectively because of the passive practice of the prosecutor during the trial; this study suggested the victim's participation in the procedure.
In trial procedure, this study focused on the victim's right to view and copy litigation documents, the special provisions of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act on the admissibility of evidence for video statements of sexual violence victims under the age of 19, and the victim impact statement during trial proceedings. The victim's right to view and copy litigation documents is ineffective because there are significant discrepancies in permission and scope of authorization to view or copy litigation documents between judges. This study reviewed law amendments, overseas legislation and opinions from judges, lawyers, victim assistance organizations and then introduced standards for permission for viewing and copying litigation documents. The special provisions of the sexual Violence Punishment Act on the admissibility of evidence for video statements of sexual violence victims under the age of 19, which was revised following the Constitutional Court's decision, do not seem to be sufficient to protect victims. This study proposed to review the witness interrogation questionnaire in advance during the trial preparation process and utilize the video witness interrogation system. Lastly, the victim's right to be heard during the trial process is not fully guaranteed. Victims summoned as witnesses should be notified of the purpose of their right to be heard. A process for a Victim Impact Statement must be established for victims who are not summoned as witnesses. Since the document submitted by the victim instead of an oral statement contains a victim impact statement and evidence, this study proposed to standardize and systematize the written submission procedure.