In 2007 when the Juvenile Act was revised, the protective disposition No.8 was enacted to diversify the juvenile protective disposition in accordance with comments that imprisonment in juvenile reformatory was closed and large-sized to be difficult to take care of each young person depending upon their characteristics, and that treatment was simple. The purpose of the protective disposition was the youth at initial stage to improve their personal characters as soon as possible by less than one month education program and to prevent them from doing misdemeanor again. The Ministry of Justice regards the protective disposition as either intermediate treatment in institutional treatment and community treatment or open treatment.
The protective disposition No.8 makes young people custody at juvenile reformatory during specific period so that it is the institutional treatment. Not only institutional treatment but also community treatment has been mixed not to produce inherent advantages of the protective disposition No.8. The juvenile reformatories under the protective disposition No.8 are placed at two, that is to say, Cheongju and Daedeok, and no more than ten or more staffs put education program into practice to be short of manpower and facilities.
Since 2008 when revision of the Juvenile Act was effective and valid, ratio of either the protective disposition No.9 or the protective disposition No.10 remarkably decreased, while that of the protective disposition No.8 rapidly increased. However, the protective disposition No.8 is rarely put into practice independently, and it is mostly done together with long-term probation and many kinds of additional dispositions to lose its inherent nature. The 16 to 17 years old young people who are to be given the disposition occupy more than half and the young people who suspend learning at schools occupy more than half. The ones having no previous crime records occupy no more than 19.5%, while the ones having many times misdemeanor records do majority. No study on the protective disposition No.8 was made so far and juvenile reformatory under the protective disposition did not set up operational directions exactly. This study examined nature, operations and contents of the protective disposition No.8 to find out problems and to investigate subjects for improvement.
The protective disposition No.8 has problems:
Firstly, the protective disposition has uncertain nature because of the institutional treatment and the community treatment.
Secondly, no rule and standard have been made to deal with young people under the protective disposition No.8. The ones who committed misdemeanor for the first time, or young aged, or had no protection from parents should be taken care under the protective disposition. But, the ones who were inappropriate for purposes of the protective disposition No.8, for example the ones were once put into juvenile reformatory, committed misdemeanor repeatedly, violated conditions of probation and so on, were included.
Thirdly, the protective disposition No.9 and No.10 regulates management and operation in accordance with the Act on the Treatment of Protected Juvenile . But, the protective disposition No.8 follows internal regulations of the Ministry of Justice called Operating Guidelines of the Protective Disposition No.8 .
Fourthly, the protective disposition No.8 don`t considered to produce some problems of the merger with long-term probation, and the expansion of the additional order.
Fifthly, the protective disposition No.8 should be managed juvenile reformatory openly. But, the protective disposition No.8 is a lack of opening factors because of merger with the protective disposition No.9 and No.10, and it limits openness by limitation on length of the hair.
Sixthly, as many as 25 programs of the protective disposition No.8 are used for one month to be ineffective and to have difficulties at recruitment of experts.
The study suggests reforming way of the protective disposition No.8 based on actual condition of operation of the protective disposition No.8, findings of the questionnaire survey and investigation into types of short-term custody in foreign countries:
Firstly, the protective disposition No.8 shall be used for the ones who need not open treatment and intermediate treatment but short-term institutional treatment. And the program operation shall add openness to overcome problems of institutional treatment and to blend both institutional treatment and community treatment.
Secondly, young people who were not put into juvenile reformatory before shall follow the protective disposition No.8, and they shall be given parents' care, and they are much likely to improve personality by education. The custody of too young people in juvenile reformatory is much likely to create negative effects. And, the protective disposition No.8 is much likely to be used for the ones who violate conditions of probation. But, the problem shall be solved by another administrative sanction. The young people are imprisoned the physical freedom during a certain period, so that selection of the young people in target requires definite legal regulations. But the protective disposition No.9 and No.10 has same problem as well. So, selection rules of the ones in target of the protective disposition No.8, No.9 and No.10 shall be enacted at the stage of revision of laws and regulations. Not only the Ministry of Justice but also the judges of the court shall cooperate actively each other to select group in accordance with uniform standards.
Thirdly, legal base on the regulations of the protective disposition No.8 shall be made. Most of regulations of operating Guidelines of the protective disposition No.8 have been incorporated into the Act on the Treatment of Protected Juvenile , so that they need to be clarified in detail. In addition, arrest and its equipment at outdoor activities, and settlement of escape shall require regulations. The protective disposition No.8 shall be incorporated not with long-term probation but with short-term probation considering characteristics and educational effects of young people. And, additional order had better be added as less as possible considering return to society, environment and situation.
Fourthly, the juvenile reformatory for young people under the protective disposition No.8 shall be set up to open facilities and environment, and small-sized independent institution shall be opened at the regions as less as possible. Teaching staffs who are in charge of young people in accordance with the protective disposition No.8 shall be recruited to let them research and develop education programs by set up of professional system. the protective disposition No.8 takes care of young people in juvenile reformatory to be
likely to be closed, so that external wall of the buildings and physical facility environment needs to reform and to be opened, and to produce atmosphere to let young people adapt to the order of juvenile reformatory by themselves. The young people in juvenile reformatory shall be permitted to grow hair and to overcome alienation from the society after one month education.
Fifthly, education program of the protective disposition No.8 shall be made specialized. They shall develop a program as soon as possible that can be differentiated from basic education program that juvenile reformatory had already adopted. They shall investigate experience and causes of misdemeanor of young people in juvenile reformatory, and make use of individual program by type of misdemeanor, age and gender. The education program shall be open to find out solution of internal problems of young people and to assure of autonomy under regulations as much as possible and to have affirmative ego idea. At the moment, external lecturer is used to solve shortage of teachers of the protective disposition No.8. They shall recruit lecturers who can understand juvenile delinquents to be interested in those young people, and a system shall be set up to monitor lecturers continuously. Not only physical resource but also human resource shall be used to help young people under the protective disposition No.8 adapt to home and community when they return and to make use of liaison program with community. The juvenile delinquents often have home under poor and bad environment. In addition to the order that asks parents to be trained some hours, systems and programs shall be developed to improve home environment and support the society by strengthening normal family functions.

* Key words: revision of Juvenile Act, the protective disposition No.8, juvenile reformatory, open treatment, institutional treatment, specialization of education programs