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The Case Study for the Legislation of Criminal Laws in the Early Joseon Dynasty

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Authors

Kim, Dae Hong

Issue Date
2015-12
Publisher
School of Law, Seoul National University
Citation
Journal of Korean Law, Vol.15 No.1, pp. 237-257
Keywords
Social status orderBirth legitimacyBirth orderSons by the legal wifeSons by concubinesRoyal edictsThe Great Ming CodeGyeonggukdaejeon (The Great Code of Administration)Sokdaejeon (Supplement to the Great Code)Analogical application of criminal articles
Abstract
In this paper, I discuss the legislation of criminal laws in the early Joseon dynasty through a case study. It was the homicide case between two brothers in 1478 (the 9th year of King Seongjongs reign). Despite the simplicity of the case, almost 40 higher officials in the royal court participated in the discussion of the case. The reason why the higher officials took the case seriously was that the older brother was a son by a concubine and the younger was a son by the legal wife. There was a deep and rigorous distinction between sons by the legal wife and sons by concubines in the Joseon dynasty. The higher officials thought that the social status order by birth legitimacy was not reflected adequately in The Great Ming Code, the basic criminal code in the Joseon dynasty. They reinterpreted the case from various perspectives in order to establish the firm social status order between sons by the legal wife and sons by concubines. Not only the number of higher officials participating in the discussion, but also the different legal opinions presented in the royal presence exemplify the process and the reasoning of making new criminal laws in the early Joseon dynasty.
ISSN
1598-1681
Language
English
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10371/97155
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College of Law/Law School (법과대학/대학원)The Law Research Institute (법학연구소) Journal of Korean Law (JKL)Journal of Korean Law Volume 15 Number 1/2 (2015/2016)
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