INTRODUCTION
The nationwide June Struggle of 1987 led to the collapse of Korea’s authoriÂtarian regime and opened a road toward democratization.[68] Under the authoriÂtarian regime, the â€?crime control’ value had dominated over the â€?due process’ value in regard to criminal procedure.[69] The Constitution’s Bill of Rights was merely nominal, and criminal law and procedure were no more than instruÂments for maintaining the regime and suppressing dissidents.
It was not a coinÂcidence that the June Struggle was sparked by the death of a dissident student tortured during police interrogation.[70]The new 1987 Constitution brought a significant change in the theory and practice of the Korean criminal procedure. Explicitly stipulating the idea of due process in criminal procedure,[71] the Bill of Rights in the Constitution has become a living document.[72] The 1988, 1995 and 2007 revisions to the Criminal Procedure Code[73] (CPC) have also strengthened the procedural rights of criminal suspects and defendants and have reconstructed the entirety of criminal procedure. Further, the newly established Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court have made important decisions.
This chapter examines the reformed system of Korean criminal procedure after democratization. It starts with a brief review of the implication of the shift brought by the 1987 Constitution. Then, it outlines the new system of Korean criminal procedure, focusing on important issues and analyzing landÂmark judicial decisions.
II.