1. Strengthening the UN and UNPNI cooperation network

  Since joining the Institutes of the UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Program Network (UNPNI) in 2004, the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice has been pursuing UN cooperation projects as its core international projects. The researcher participated as a PNI observer in the 32nd United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), held in hybrid format in May 2023, to integrate and cooperate in the fields of crime prevention and criminal justice as a UN agency. Activities were reported and the latest international crime trends were identified and response measures were discussed. In addition, we participated in the PNI Coordination Meeting held in Vienna in May and Vancouver in November to discuss the implementation and follow-up measures of the Kyoto Declaration adopted at the 14th United Nations General Assembly on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and to discuss implementation and follow-up measures in the United Arab Emirates in 2026. Preparations were made for the 15th general meeting scheduled to be held.

  In addition, as a PNI observer, the Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes By participating non-face-to-face in UN expert meetings such as the 66th Committee on Narcotic Drugs (CND), we identified the latest research policy trends of the UN and shared key issues in the field of international criminal justice.

2. Building and strengthening international cooperation networks

  As the COVID-19 pandemic eased, international exchanges such as visiting events and international cooperation meetings became more active. Officials from relevant overseas organizations, including the Thai Senate Legislation and Judiciary and Police Committee, Kenya's KOICA-NCRC training group, Thailand's Office of the Attorney General delegation, Uzbekistan's Ministry of Internal Affairs delegation, and Director Taro Morinaga of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), visited a total of five times, and international cooperation conferences were held at Griffith University in Australia and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the United States, was conducted together with a delegation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan. At the visitation event, major research trends and achievements were shared through programs such as introduction of the researcher, introduction of major research activities and results, facility tour, and Q&A, and the possibility of signing an MOU was discussed. In addition, this year, we further expanded our network of researchers through international cooperation meetings with related organizations with whom we had no previous exchanges, and provided an opportunity to lay the foundation for future cooperative relationships with them.

3. Holding and participating in international academic conferences

  A. Hosting an international academic conference

  This year, several international expert meetings (Expert Group Meetings, EGMs) were held with experts from overseas related organizations, and three international open forums were held. The EGM was held in face-to-face and hybrid formats and was held at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, Illinois State University in the United States, the Center for Global City Policing at University College London in the United Kingdom, International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (IVR) in the United Kingdom, and Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom. It was conducted a total of six times in collaboration with the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI) in the Finland. Among them, the 2nd EGM, attended by experts from the Illinois State University and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, was held under the theme of 'Korea and narcotics status and research on illegal drugs,' and following last year's 'Korea-US Sex Offender Electronic Supervision Expert Webinar', the Illinois State University and the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office attended. Academic exchange continued. As part of these efforts, an MOU was signed with Illinois State University at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting (ASC) in November. In addition, the International Cooperation Team participated as an expert in the East Asia and Southeast Asia regional expert meeting held by the Global Initiative on Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) last March, and in August, researchers from GI-TOC were invited to the 7th conference. By conducting the forum, we sought to establish a long-term academic exchange network with the relevant institution. GI-TOC is a related organization of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), and is expected to contribute to the expansion of the researcher's international cooperation network through continuous exchange.

  B. Participation in international academic conferences

  The Korea Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy participated in the Colloquium on the Control of Cryptocurrency-Related Crime held in Vancouver in November, bringing together leaders, practitioners, and experts in cryptocurrency technology related to cryptocurrency-related law enforcement and financial regulation. We discussed the current state of research and policy on the topic with experts in design, application, and regulation, as well as experts performing work directly related to regulation or investigation of the misuse of cryptocurrency. We also participated in the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting and held a joint session with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Korean Society of Criminology in America (KOSCA).

4. The 10th Korea Criminology and Legal Policy Institute International Forum

  The Korea Criminology and Justice Policy Institute International Forum is the organization's largest annual international event, starting with the first event in 2014 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023. The main theme of the 2023 International Forum is “Criminal Justice and Legal Policy Responses to Combat Transnational Organized Crime,” seeking realistic and effective response strategies to transnational crime. We sought to emphasize the importance of international cooperation by integrating the opinions of experts. In particular, experts in the five major transnational crime fields of drugs, human trafficking and illegal immigration, cybercrime, money laundering and recovery of crime proceeds, and terrorism attended to determine the effectiveness. The 10th International Forum was the first face-to-face meeting held since COVID-19 and was broadcast worldwide through the organization's official website and English YouTube.

5. Production of English publications and international dissemination of research results

  The International Journal of Criminal Justice (IJCJ), the English journal of the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice, has published a total of 8 volumes since its launch in 2019, and the Volume 5 Issue 2 is scheduled to be published in December 2023. To date, a total of 31 papers by foreign authors have been published in IJCJ, progressing in line with the publication's goal of establishing a forum for international discussion in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. Trends and Policies in Criminal Justice (TPCJ), which summarizes reports published in English on research topics selected by researchers to reflect domestic and international issues, was also published regularly, and as of December, a total of 3 issues were published in 2023. TPCJ published a summary of the researcher's major research in English, contributing to disseminating the researcher's results to overseas stakeholders. In addition, the English brochure for the overall introduction of the research institute has been updated with the 2023 organizational chart, duties for each department, and international exchanges for 2023, improving the efficiency of introducing the institution to overseas stakeholders.

  In addition, in order to effectively spread the published results, various promotional activities were carried out both online and offline. As international exchanges became more active after the pandemic, publications were distributed directly to officials during visits to overseas institutions and business trips, contributing to increasing mutual research understanding and enhancing the status of the institution. In the case of online promotion, the promotion platform was diversified and the publication status was added to SNS as well as newsletter production to improve accessibility to the researcher's publications and induce reader interest, thereby activating promotion.

6. Operation of an international promotion platform

  Promotional platforms such as English websites, online newsletters, and social networks are continuously being operated to inform researchers of research trends, including English-language publications and various international academic exchange events. This year's newsletter was published three times, in April, August, and December. Through the newsletter, the latest trends of the research center were disseminated, including participation in the 32nd UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), holding an academic conference on responding to national issues, and signing an MOU, and publishing the English-language periodical Trends & Policies in Criminal Justice (TPCJ). It was promoted. Additionally, submissions to the English journal International Journal of Criminal Justice were encouraged. Exchanges with overseas organizations and expert personal accounts have occurred through social networks, but in order to further activate this, it seems necessary to consider future content development, considering the characteristics of the platform that emphasizes steady and continuous uploading.