ABSTRACT
Given the severe consequences for victims’ psychological and physical health, managing individuals with a history of violent and sexual crime has been a significant public concern over the last few decades in South Korea. Since the mid-2000s, legislation in South Korea has been enacted to place individuals convicted of violent or sexual crimes on exceptional legal orders to prevent recidivism. Additionally, in corrections settings, the Risk-Need-Responsivity framework helps to structure intervention programmes. Some risk assessment tools have been adopted from Western countries (e.g., Static-99; Psychopathy Checklist-Revised) and others have been developed with South Korean samples (e.g., Korean Sex Offender Risk Assessment Scale [KSORAS]). Regarding treatment, most individuals who are sentenced to prison for sexual crimes are ordered by the court to participate in psychological treatment. The treatment classification decisions in correctional settings are primarily made based on recidivism risk. This chapter explores theoretical and practical approaches to offender rehabilitation in legal, forensic mental health, and correctional settings in South Korea and considers empirical evidence for these approaches.
