The Origins of the Seoul Family Court as a Juvenile Court and Techniques of Dehumanization: Focusing on “Therapeutic Justice” as Applied to Juvenile Delinquency and Divorce Mediation

The Seoul Family Court was established on October 1, 1963 as the successor to the Juvenile Branch Court of the Seoul District Court. The Seoul Family Court considered the investigation of juvenile cases and the investigation and mediation of family cases as the main principles of the family court. This meant that the knowledge and system of the juvenile court, which punished juvenile delinquency, and the techniques of dehumanization using various disciplines were justified under the system of the family court. In this way, the mediators of the Seoul Family Court assumed the role of “therapeutic justice,” which expanded social norms and control over the family and continuously disseminated relevant content to society. This “therapeutic justice” was a combination of public and private intervention, realized primarily through the reconstruction of common-law marriage norms and the reinforcement of heterosexual normal family norms through family court decisions. This technique of dehumanization, which does not recognize the self-determination of the individual, encompassed both heterosexuals and homosexuals in Korea at that time.