Women Policy Research Institute Holds Symposium on 'Gender Violence Crimes and Sentencing'

Exploring the Current State of Gender Violence and Measures to Improve Sentencing Standards

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Korean Women’s Development Institute will hold a joint symposium with the Sentencing Commission on the theme of ‘Gender Violence Crimes and Sentencing’ on the 8th.

This symposium was organized to examine the current state of gender violence and the role of sentencing, and to explore ways to improve sentencing guidelines related to gender violence crimes. The symposium will be held at 2 p.m. on the 8th in the main auditorium on the first floor of the Supreme Court and will be broadcast live online via the Korean Women’s Development Institute and Supreme Court YouTube channels, considering the COVID-19 situation.

The symposium will be divided into two main sessions. In the first session, Park Boksun, Senior Research Fellow at the Korean Women’s Development Institute, will review the current laws and systems related to gender violence under the theme ‘The Reality of Gender Violence and the Role of Sentencing’ and check key points.

Senior Research Fellow Park Boksun explained, “To eradicate gender violence, the existing sentencing guidelines must reflect an understanding of gender violence,” adding, “Sentencing guidelines should be established for new types of gender violence such as domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking.”

After the keynote presentation, a discussion will be held with participants including Kim Youngmi, attorney at Law Firm Soongin, Lee Mikyung, director of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, and Choo Jihyun, professor of sociology at Seoul National University.

The second session will feature Kim Jungmin, Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, discussing ‘Improvement Measures for Sentencing Guidelines Related to Gender Violence Crimes,’ focusing on the particularities of gender violence to be considered when related crimes occur and factors to consider in sentencing.

Chief Judge Kim Jungmin stated, “Gender violence-related crimes are not limited to any specific criminal charges, and there are no separate sentencing guidelines or statistics specifically addressing ‘gender violence.’” He argued, “In establishing sentencing guidelines, the concept of gender violence must be defined so that sentencing can be systematic and rational.”

After the presentation, a discussion will be held with Kim Jaenam, legal advisor at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Government Local Prosecutor’s Office), Seo Hyejin, human rights director of the Korean Women Lawyers Association (representative attorney at The Lighthouse Law Office), and Jang Dahye, research fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy.

Moon Yukyung, president of the Korean Women’s Development Institute, said, “In recent years, a national consensus has been formed on the role of sentencing in eradicating gender violence crimes,” adding, “I hope this symposium will serve as an opportunity to derive improvement measures for establishing fair and rational sentencing guidelines for gender violence crimes and to raise social awareness.”

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