• Journal of Legislation Research
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• no.53
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• pp.61-107
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• 2017

It has been seventy-two years since the Korean Peninsular was divided into South and North Korea. When Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in August 1945, the South and North established a capitalist system and a socialist system (communism) respectively, intensifying the ideological conflict and confrontation. The division of Korea was not confined to political and economical aspects, but extended to legal system, making it difficult to find legislative homogeneity in the two. The long-term situation of the divided nation results in a social phenomenon accompanied by legal division. For instance, shortly after its liberation from Japan's colonial rule, North Korea responded quickly to secure legal stability to govern the northern part while the Soviet army troops were stationed in it. Based on Marx and Engels' historical materialism, the North drove a change in its ideological superstructure by repealing the privatization of land property which was the means of production and finally enforced land nationalization, in common with other socialist states including the former Soviet Union. The North's land reform made under the guise of fulfilling national independence and doing away with anti-seigneurial and anti-feudalistic relations, has led to a wide difference in the systems between the South and Korea. This paper focuses on the legal systems of South and North Korea and is aimed at exploring the legal characteristics and environment of the North which became secluded from the world while engaging in socialist experiments for the past seventy two years against capitalism. Ongoing studies of legal system integration will be briefly discussed. The legal status of South and North Korea as a political entity will be investigated to overcome legal system division; and the characteristics of South-North relationship in legal terms and the limitations of the North's legal system will be also examined. Moreover, the directions for integrating legal systems and the plan for resolving legal system division will be suggested.