Assemblyman So Byung-chul Hosts On-Tact Policy Seminar on Legislative Measures for Asset-Proportional Fine System

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Democratic Party lawmaker So Byeong-cheol (Suncheon Gwangyang Gokseong Gurye Gap, Judiciary Committee) held a policy seminar on June 22 titled “Legislative Measures for the Asset-Proportional Fine System.”

Co-hosted with the Korea Institute of Criminology (President Han In-seop), the event was conducted via an on-tact video conference over two hours. Experts from academia, the National Assembly Legislative Research Office, civic groups, as well as practitioners from the Ministry of Justice and the Court Administration Office attended to review the problems of the current fine system and discuss ways to improve the system.

The discussion on imposing fines proportional to the economic power of offenders has long been raised, but progress has repeatedly been blocked by the argument of “prematurity,” which was a common opinion among the presenters.

In response, Park Mi-sook, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology, shared the results of a perception survey conducted among the general public and criminal law experts, confirming that public interest in the fairness of punishments is currently high and that a consensus on the need to introduce an asset (property)-proportional fine system has already been formed.

According to Senior Research Fellow Park’s study results, △ 75.6% of the general public supported the , △ 72.6% believed that were somewhat prepared, and △ 85.3% favored implementing the system immediately or within 1-2 years, targeting specific regions or specific crimes. These findings showed little difference from the survey results of experts.

Following this, Professor Choi Ho-jin of Dankook University’s Department of Law, who also presented, emphasized that the biggest drawback of the current total fine system is the “inequality of punitive effects,” and that the asset (property)-proportional fine system better aligns with substantive equality.

He also pointed out that for the introduction of the system, detailed considerations are needed regarding the maximum number of fine days, limitations on the scope of application, methods for calculating the daily fine amount, and investigations into property status.

Lawmaker So Byeong-cheol stated, “The transition to an asset (property)-proportional fine system ultimately depends on political will,” and emphasized, “I will ensure that today’s discussion is sufficiently deliberated during the future bill review process.”

He also said, “The reason for filing the bill (the ‘Partial Amendment to the Criminal Act’) before the policy seminar was to expedite the discussion,” and urged, “I ask all the experts and practitioners present here to work hard for the prompt improvement of the system.”

The seminar was chaired by An Seong-hoon, Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology. Presenters included Senior Research Fellow Park Mi-sook of the Korea Institute of Criminology and Professor Choi Ho-jin of Dankook University’s Department of Law. Discussants included Professor Han Young-soo of Ajou University School of Law, Prosecutor Kim Jin-woo of the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Legislation Division, Secretary-General Oh Chang-ik of the Human Rights Solidarity, Legislative Research Officer Park Hye-rim of the National Assembly Legislative Research Office, and Officer Lee Kyung-jae of the Court Administration Office’s Criminal Support Review Office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.