• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.531-544
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• 2016

Victim Impact Statement, adopted as a crime victims' right, has been implemented in Korean criminal justice system since 2007, and known that the statement enlarges victims' right in courts and alleviates their suffering resulted from the crime. The statement, however, has raised concerns of infringing on a defendant's procedural rights. Scholars and practitioners had focused more on the legal issue, overlooking psychological effect of the statement to decision-makers in courts. This research reviews fallacy of impact assessment and therapeutic effect from psychological perspective, and also suggests alternatives to assuage the concerns by admission of the statement.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.13-20
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• 2013

It was just over 20 years ago that the victim who had been seen as the forgotten man in criminal justice system for a long time started to participate in criminal proceedings and state his opinion. Other countries such as America and Japan provide crime victims with the opportunity to state freely about facts of damage as well as their opinions in criminal proceedings at present. However, Korea gives the victim the right of statement as a witness, though the statement of crime victim's opinion is the constitutional right. That is, as crime victims are not free from perjury they cannot actively state their views. Meanwhile, if the freedom of crime victims' statement is guaranteed in law and victims can state opinions with their own voice, victims' statement of opinion will help the victims treat and relieve their psychological damages. For these reasons, it is desirable that Korea, like the U.S. and Japan, gives crime victims the right to state their opinion without fear of perjury in criminal proceedings not as witnesses but as the aggrieved party.