The Korean Penal Code provides the crimes of assault and inflicting of bodily injury, which are the most basic violent crimes. The penalties for the violent crimes are aggravated by special criminal acts such as the Act for Punishment of Violent Conduct and the Act for Aggravated Punishment for Specific Crimes, which increase the penalties for collective or habitual violent crimes, and violent crimes during the night.
This system was established under the authoritarian regime and even after democratization, has remained intact. It has been criticized for that it is overwhelmed by a severe punishment policy; coexistence of the Penal Code and special criminal acts make interpretation and enforcement of the laws very complicated. It is currently being discussed to repeal these draconian special acts and introduce some necessary provisions into the Penal Code.
Sexual violence crimes are punished by the Penal Code and the Act for Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes and Protection of Victims. The most basic sexual violence crime is rape, which is defined as a non-consensual sexual intercourse with a woman, who is not the offender's wife, with the use of "utmost force/threat." This definition is criticized a male-centered under-criminalization for it is irrational and absurd to ever imply a wife's consent to humiliating and violent rape by her husband; the requirement of "utmost force/threat" conceptually limits the scope of the definition of rape, leaving perpetrators of a broad range of non-consensual sex by force immune to prosecution. Quite recently a lower trial court began to criminalize marital rape and the Supreme Court has begun to revise the requirement of "utmost force/threat."
The crime of raper can be punished only when a victim files a complaint in Korea. The rationale for the complaint requirement is said to protect the victims' privacy and honor. However, this requirement is criticized as it plays a negative role in concealing or encouraging sexual violence in reality. It is actively being discussed to repeal the complaint requirement.