Criminal Act

The Criminal Act or Criminal Code (형법/刑法) is the law (Act No. 293 established on September 18, 1953) that defines conduct that shall be punished. It stipulates precisely each type of crimes by law under the principle of nulla poena sine lege (Latin, "No punishment without a previous penal law", 죄형법정주의/罪刑法定主義), allows no analogical interpretation (유추해석 금지/類推解釋禁止), and declares its effect non-retroactive (소급효 금지/遡及效禁止). Its effect is, in principle, limited to the territory of the Republic of Korea and the Korean nationals. Arts. 2 - 6 of the Criminal Act.

Criminal law differs from civil law, whose emphasis is more on dispute resolution than in punishment.

Ever since its enforcement, the crimes are getting heinous and big-sized, and, in some cases, a new type of threat takes place. So special acts have been enacted to combat those crimes. Anyhow, the Criminal Act is regarded as the framework or basics of the special criminal laws.

The kinds of punishable conducts based on the special act are on the increase and the punishment grows heavier even to death penalty. The following examples illustrate why a special act is necessary for what:
 * Act on the Punishment of Violence Activities (폭력행위 등 처벌에 관한 법률) to punish violence activities by group or habit, or at night.
 * Act on the Additional Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (특정범죄 가중처벌 등에 관한 법률) to punish bribery, baby snatch, hit-and-run incident, tax evasion, etc.
 * National Security Act (국가보안법) to punish pro-communism propaganda and support.
 * Narcotics Act (마약법) to punish trafficking and habitual use of drug and narcotics.
 * A number of special acts on Sex crimes

Key words
criminal law, crime, punishment, criminal intent, negligence, complicity

Content
The Criminal Act consists of 372 clauses, 4 chapters in General Provisions (총칙/總則), 42 chapters in Individual Provisions (각칙/各則) and addenda.

General Provisions
Part I. General Provisions
 * Ch. 01. Limit of Applicability of Criminal Act
 * Ch. 02. Crime
 * Sec. 1. Commission of Crime and Mitigation or Exemption of Sentence
 * Sec. 2. Criminal Attempts
 * Sec. 3. Complicity
 * Sec. 4. Repeated Crime
 * Sec. 5. Concurrent Crimes
 * Ch. 03. Punishment
 * Sec. 1. Kinds and Seerity of Punishments
 * Sec. 2. Determination of Punishment
 * Sec. 3. Suspension of Imposition of Sentence
 * Sec. 4. Suspension of Execution of Sentence
 * Sec. 5. Execution of Punishment
 * Sec. 6. Parole
 * Sec. 7. Prescription for Execution of Judgment of Guilty
 * Sec. 8. Extinction of Punishment
 * Ch. 04. Term

Individual Crimes
Part II. Individual Provisions
 * Ch. 01. Crime concerning Insurrection
 * Ch. 02. Crimes concerning Foreign Aggression
 * Ch. 03. Crimes concerning the National Flag
 * Ch. 04. Crimes concerning Foreign Relations
 * Ch. 05. Crimes Injurious to Public Peace
 * Ch. 06. Crimes concerning Explosives
 * Ch. 07. Crimes concerning the Duties of Public Officials
 * Ch. 08. Crimes concerning Obstruction of the Performance of Official Duties
 * Ch. 09. Crimes of Escape and harboring Criminals
 * Ch. 10. Crimes of Perjury and Destruction of Evidence
 * Ch. 11. Crimes of False Accusation
 * Ch. 12. Crimes concerning Deceased Persons
 * Ch. 13. Crimes of Arson and Fire caused by Negligence
 * Ch. 14. Crimes concerning Inundation and Water Utilization
 * Ch. 15. Crimes of Traffic Obstruction
 * Ch. 16. Crimes concerning Drinking Waters
 * Ch. 17. Crimes concerning Opium
 * Ch. 18. Crimes concerning Currency
 * Ch. 19. Crimes concerning Valuable Securities and Postage and Revenue Stamps
 * Ch. 20. Crimes concerning Documents
 * Ch. 21. Crimes concerning Seals
 * Ch. 22. Crimes concerning Sexual Morals
 * Ch. 23. Crimes concerning Gambling and Lotteries
 * Ch. 24. Crimes of Homicide
 * Ch. 25. Crimes of Inflicting Bodily Injury and Violence
 * Ch. 26. Crimes of Inflicting Bodily Injury and Death through Negligence
 * Ch. 27. Crimes of Abortion
 * Ch. 28. Crimes of Abandonment and Maltreatment
 * Ch. 29. Crimes of False Arrest and Illegal Confinement
 * Ch. 30. Crimes of Intimidation
 * Ch. 31. Crimes of Kidnapping
 * Ch. 32. Crimes concerning Rape and Infamous Conduct
 * Ch. 33. Crimes against Reputation
 * Ch. 34. Crimes against Credit Business and Auction
 * Ch. 35. Crimes of Violation of Secrecy
 * Ch. 36. Crimes of Intrusion upon Human Habitation
 * Ch. 37. Crimes of Obstructing Another from Exercising His Right
 * Ch. 38. Crimes of Larceny and Robbery
 * Ch. 39. Crimes of Fraud and Extortion
 * Ch. 40. Crimes of Embezzlement and Breach of Trust
 * Ch. 41. Crimes concerning Stolen Property
 * Ch. 42. Crimes of Destruction and Damages