The Court Organization Act, which was passed into law on 26 September 1949, officially created a three-tiered, independent judicial system.
Another departure from the British/American system is the admissibility of suspect interrogation records produced by the prosecutors without defense counsel being present.
A confession made without assistance of legal counsel is admissible if the suspect confirms the authenticity of the record at a preparatory hearing or during the trial.
Both the Constitution and the Penal Code contain provisions that prohibit ex post facto laws and violations of due process.
In addition, the Constitution requires judicial warrants for arrest, detention, search, or seizure, except where a person suspected of a crime is caught in flagrante delicto or where a person suspected of a sufficiently serious crime is a flight risk or might destroy evidence, in which cases an ex post facto warrant may be issued.
The Constitution also requires that a person arrested for a crime be given assistance of counsel and have the right to petition the court for habeas corpus.
Citizens of the Republic of Korea are guaranteed various civil rights and protections by Chapter II of the Constitution, which also imposes the duties of military service and taxes.
In Korea, many disputes were settled by de facto, informal mediators like elder members of the community or family without making their way to the court.
The Court Organization Act, which was passed into law on 26 September 1949, officially created a three-tiered, independent judicial system in the Republic of Korea.
The revised Constitution of 1987 guaranteed that judges would not be removed from office for any reason other than impeachment, criminal acts, or incapacity.
South Korean courts are organized and empowered in chapters V and VI of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.
Nevertheless, Korean activist lawyers have managed to become a formidable institution within Korea's legal system, in part due to the election of Roh Moo-hyun as president.
[5] Criminal law in South Korea is largely codified in the Penal Code, which was originally enacted in 1953, and has undergone little revision since.
[6] Both the Constitution and the Penal Code contain provisions that prohibit ex post facto laws and violations of due process.
In addition, the Constitution requires judicial warrants for arrest, detention, search, or seizure, except where a person suspected of a crime is caught in flagrante delicto or where a person suspected of a sufficiently serious crime is a flight risk or might destroy evidence, in which cases an ex post facto warrant may be issued.
A person arrested for a crime also has the right to have his family or other close kin promptly notified as to the reason, time, and place of his detention.
Especially in 1997, the South Korean prosecution service contributed to the imprisonment of the son of the incumbent president, Kim Hyeon Chul, which happened for the first time in world judicial history.
As the result of successful, even relentlessly fair probings and prosecutions of corporate crimes, they often face criticism from corrupt[fact or opinion?]
Two scandal cases right before the presidential election in 2012 gave huge blows to the reputation of Korean prosecutors, and this brought in the abolition of the "grand central investigation team" in the prosecution service, which was replaced by "anti-corruption team" in Seoul central district of the prosecution service (in 2013).
Also, the Korean government introduced a specially-appointed prosecutors organization (in 2014) for when it comes to handling large corporate-bureaucrat scandals requiring a supreme level of transparency and objectivity.
However, it has been controversial whether the abolition of the grand central investigation team was inevitable, as it had accomplished substantial achievements in effective prosecution of huge corruption-corporate crimes (during the period 1981–2013).
In addition, there are doubts whether or not the objectivity of specially-appointed prosecutors would be guaranteed when the appointment is being made by members of national assembly.
However, since the election of President Park, the Korean prosecution service has been making efforts on self-purification process in eliminating corruptions.
They also are making endeavours in succession to the past Korean prosecution service's effective and objective processing of criminal investigations.
Article 1 of the KCPA stipulates that the court should strive to enhance fairness, speed, and efficiency in civil proceedings.
The specific rules are prescribed in the Regulation on the Subject Matter Jurisdiction in Civil and Family Litigations.
A civil action begins when a plaintiff files a complaint, which sets out the alleged facts and remedy sought, with the court.
When the defendant fails to contest the complaints in a timely manner or remains silent, the court can regard it as acceptance or admission as well.
The court of appeals can examine the facts as well as law and the parties can submit new allegations and pieces of evidence.
[26] Treaties ratified by the Republic of Korea have the same effect as domestic law, as stated in Article 6 of the Constitution.