RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No.82

EFFECTIVE RESETTLEMENT OF OFFENDERS BY
STRENGTHENING ‘COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION FACTORS’:
COUNTRY REPORT – KOREA
Yun Young Lee*I. OVERVIEW
A. The Goal of Corrections
1. The Goal of Corrections
Article 1 of the Act on Execution of the Sentence and Treatment of Inmates specifies that the goal ofthe Korea Correctional Service (KCS) is the prevention of recidivism and the successful reintegration intosociety of offenders.
2. Policy Objectives
For this goal, the KCS operates various rehabilitative programmes. The assistance given to achieving theinmate’s secure resettlement into society can be considered a yardstick by which to measure the successof the correctional service. Thus, the Ministry of Justice provides vocational training, academic education,
humanity education, religious activities and supports employment, etc. These programmes contribute tostrengthening the rehabilitation of offenders. The inmate’s human rights are also sufficiently respected
and protected during their stay in correctional institutions by the Constitution and relevant laws. If an
inmate believes that his or her rights have been infringed, he or she can recover his or her rights throughan interview with the Warden, a petition, or an appeal to the National Human Rights Commission, etc.
Because the community’s role in the correctional service helps the inmate’s resettlement into society, thecorrectional administration does its utmost to expand public involvement in corrections.

B. Organizational Structure
Commisioner
GeneralDeputy Director

Deputy Director

General Affairs& Planning

Security

Vocational
Training

WelfareClassification
Examination

Health care

SocialRehabilitation

Task forces

4 Regional Corrections Headquarters
47 Correctional Institutions: 10 detention centres / 34 prisons* 3 branch institutions (49,228 inmates)* Inspector, Cheongju Women’s Correctional Institution, Republic of Korea.

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The Korea Correctional Service, under Ministry of Justice, directs and supervises the administration andoperation of correctional facilities. The Commissioner of the Korea Correctional Service is assisted by theDirector-General for Correctional Policy and the Director-General for Security Policy. The Director-Generalfor Correctional Policy assists the Commissioner with issues related to the General Affairs and PlanningDivision, Vocational Training Division, Social Rehabilitation Division and the Welfare Division. The DirectorGeneral for Security Policy assists the Commissioner with matters concerning the Security Division,Classification and Examination Division and the Health Care Division. The duties of each Division are asfollows:
1. General Affairs and Planning Division
The Division makes overall plans on correctional administration, personnel management and inspections.
The Division also drafts laws and regulations regarding correctional administration, public relations andinternational co-operation.
2. Vocational Training Division
The Division draws up and implements plans on prison industry and vocational training. The Divisionalso handles matters related to remuneration and reparation for accidental deaths or injuries during workhours.
3. Social Rehabilitation Division
The Division creates and executes policies regarding education, protection and overall support for
inmates scheduled to be released; deals with matters related to the appointment or discharge of correctional
volunteers; and issues authorizations and permissions to the corporation that provides rehabilitation
programmes and support for social reintegration. The Division also makes plans for field trips and furloughs forinmates and operates employment service centres.
4. Welfare Division
The Division makes Budget plans, administers facilities and handles the provision of food and clothing.
5. Security Division
The Security Division is in charge of the admission, accommodation, daily living care and the release ofinmates. It also conducts inspections of facilities; handles classification and parole preparation; and manages
auxiliary correctional officers and security apparatuses.
6. Classification and Examination DivisionThis Division develops treatment programmes for inmates; creates and operates scientific classification
methods; supervises the Classification and Treatment Board and the Parole Board; and reviews inmates tobe paroled.
7. Health Care DivisionThis Division takes care of inmates’ health and hygiene, and provides medical treatment, including
prescription and dispensation. The Division also formulates and implements policies for health screening,disease prevention and rights protection of inmates.
8. Regional Correctional Headquarters
Regional Correctional headquarters are situated in Seoul (Central region), Taegu (Youngnam region),
Taejon (Chung region) and Kwangju (Honam region), and provide mid-level supervision by directly
overseeing local correctional institutions within their own respective jurisdictions. There are five divisions
under the Commissioner of Regional Correctional Headquarters: the General Affairs Division, Security
Division, Industry Division, Medical Care and Classification Division and Educational Reformation Division.
There are 47 correctional facilities including ten detention centres, 34 prisons and three branch institutions.
These Correctional institutions house 49,228 inmates.

C. Correctional Staff
Correctional staff are generally divided into non-uniformed officers and uniformed officers. Uniformed67

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officers have charge of security in general. But they also take charge of administration including
Education, Medical Care, Food and Hygiene, etc. Non-uniformed officers work in Education, Classification,Administration, Medical Care, Food and Hygiene, Facility Management, etc. The KCS has a total staff of14,295.

II. HALFWAY HOUSE
A. House of Hope
The Correctional Service operates a halfway house called the ‘House of Hope’. The ‘House of Hope’ isa training centre for inmates who are eligible for parole. The goal of this house is to improve the parolees’
capacity to reintegrate into the community and to prevent reoffending through programmes run in threestages.
1.

First stage: adaptation to the facility (two weeks)•Adaptation to unfamiliar open environment.
•Education for treatment plan.

2. Second stage: adaptation to society•
Work at workplaces outside the facility.
3. Third stage: settlement in society•
Strengthen the parolee’s relationship with family members through furlough.
•Volunteer activity.
1. Facilities
The ‘House of Hope’ was established on 21 January 2009. Five rooms accommodate ten inmates who
have three to six months to release. They have the advantage of advanced services during their stay. Thefacility is comfortably equipped: rooms have beds and desks, and computers and a community area areprovided.
On weekdays the parolees work at the ‘Beautiful Auto-care Shop’. In their free time they plan for theirlives after release, can go out on furlough, take part in volunteer activities and receive humanity education
during the weekend.
2. Employment Placement
As of April 2009, 15 inmates have been released from the House of Hope and all of them have secured
work, three in auto-care related work. The Korea Correction Service will establish more Houses of Hope.

III. SOCIAL ADAPTATION TRAINING CENTER
The Korea Correctional Service operates a “Social Adaptation Training Center” to help inmates
successfully resettle into society. This Center was established on 1 July 2009 and accommodates inmateseligible for parole within six months and who were sentenced to five or more years’ imprisonment, and areserving their first or second term of imprisonment. Training sessions run for six months and comprise threestages.
The first stage takes place during the first two weeks. This starts with Orientation. This stage isdesigned to prepare inmates to approach rapidly changing daily life. This opportunity helps inmates to besmoothly resettled into society. This stage focuses on recovery of family and personal relationships. The
inmate has free use of the telephone. They experience the opening of an account and credit card through amock daily life programme.
The second stage is implemented for almost four months and two weeks. The inmates commute tooutside work. This stage is designed to help inmates solve difficulties for social re-entry. The inmates
strengthen their relationships with their families through furlough, family visits, etc. Inmates in this facility
are given more of these opportunities compared to prison inmates. They get a chance to rebuild social
relationships through various volunteer activities and cultural performances.

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The third stage lasts two weeks and is composed of group education, social experience, and education
for job finding or opening an own business. Advice is provided by the Small and Medium Business
Administration. The inmates don’t work in this time.

IV. SUPPORT FOR JOB FINDING AND OPENING OWN BUSINESS
A. Support Committee for Job Finding and Opening Own Business
In April 2008 the Korea Correctional Service established a “Support Committee for Job Finding andBusiness Start-ups” in every correctional institution. The Committee members comprise the respective
wardens and directors, and professors, business owners and other community leaders.
Instances of Job Finding Support by the Committee
Year2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Number743

730

670

672

717

Instances of Business Start-up Support by the Committee
TotalManufacturing

Distributing

Service

Restaurant

Construction

2448462

This committee helps inmates in comprehensive ways such as introducing them to jobs, providing
information for starting their own businesses, supporting skills and materials, and consulting services,etc. This committee also gives advice about rehabilitation policy and correctional administration. In order
to co-operate and assist the committee, a task force is created. This team is responsible for planning thework, structuring networks with related agencies and building relationships with business owners in thecommunity. This team supplements new rehabilitation assistance content in the correctional information
system to build a nationwide network, which can improve the efficiency of the rehabilitation support system.
Thus, the committee operates more systematically and scientifically to provide employment for inmates.
More than 700 inmates have secured a job after release as a result of these activities. Some of them haveopened their own businesses in various fields.

B. Job Fair
The economic difficulties released offenders experience are a factor in their reoffending. To solve thisproblem, KCS desperately needs the community’s co-operation. The Correctional Service develops custommade vocational training programmes to attract business owners in the community who can employ theinmates. This programme allows the business owner to select trainees and to fix the training content, tosome extent. The inmates have opportunity to be introduced to a job in stages after vocational training.
StagesContents

First Stage

Selecting an inmate
Consultation in advance for inmate to be released
Identifying inmates who want to be hired

Second Stage

Introduction to jobs: job fair

Third Stage

Intense management for some period after release
Intense management period (one month)
Adaptation period (three months)
Stability period (two months)

A job fair is prepared to provide employment consultation, information on starting own businesses, job
interviews, vocational aptitude tests and lectures by released offenders experiencing success in runningtheir own businesses or finding a job.
As of 27 April 2010, the results of the second job fair are as follows:69

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No.82(Unit: number)
Seoul
Headquarters

Total

Daegu
Headquarters

DaejonHeadquarters

Kwangju
HeadquartersEnterprise

Job

Enterprise

Job

Enterprise

Job

Enterprise

Job

Enterprise

Job623

1293

65313

51

13940569

467

272

Job interviews are conducted on the spot and by camera (cam-interview). The inmates applying for caminterview are as follows:(Unit: person)
Total

Seoul
Headquarters

Daegu
Headquarters

DaejonHeadquarters

Kwangju
Headquarters

317

136

675559Visual telephones allocated in correctional institution for cam-interview are as follows:(Unit: number)
Total

Seoul
Headquarters

Daegu
Headquarters

DaejonHeadquarters

Kwangju
Headquarters

3514777

One thousand, one hundred and eighty four (1,184) inmates took part in the second job fair which
was held at four headquarters nationwide. Four hundred and eighty one (481) inmates were hired by job
interview. Some of them were hired twice.
(Unit: person)
Total

Spot-interview

Cam-interview

Total

481

383

98

Seoul
Headquarters

138

117

21

Daegu
Headquarters

89

78

8

DaejonHeadquarters

167

132

35

Kwangju
Headquarters

90

56

34

C. Joy and Hope Bank
Long-term incarceration in correctional institutions can lead to a ‘social lag’ phenomenon for inmates.
To remedy this, inmates should have an economic stepping stone for life after release. The “Joy and HopeBank” was established in June 2008 by the Catholic Correctional Committee. This bank is designed tosupport inmates who want to find a job or open their own shops. The bank also helps victims and supports
other rehabilitative work. This bank gives loans without mortgages to the amount of US$20,000 per
inmate. Correctional staff assigned to task forces in correctional institutions select inmates with good
behaviour records who are less than two years from release, who are considered to have good businessability. The selected inmate needs to complete a two-week orientation course operated by the bank. Afterfinishing this course, the inmate provides a business plan on paper. This business plan is examined and thebank investigates the possibility of the success of the business before granting the loan. Aftercare is also
provided. In 2009, four loans were made.

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V. CONCLUSION
The goal of correctional service is to rehabilitate offenders and to resettle them in the community asgood citizens. Inmates’ successful resettlement in society reduces recidivism; this is an imperative, given
the high social costs of reoffending. Korea Correctional Service develops and operates various systems toensure an advanced correction administration and better treatment for offenders. Such systems include
the Hope Light Project, opening new specialized vocational training programmes, custom-made correction
rehabilitation programmes, the House of Hope, supporting employment and business start-ups, including
improvement of the institutional environment and improvement of medical treatment. Finally, Korea
Correctional Service will work hard to help inmates start over a new life with hope.

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