Juridical persons for offenders rehabilitation services are nongovernmental organizations that undertake rehabilitation services to offenders and are established under license from the Minister of Justice in line with the Law for Offenders Rehabilitation Services.

  Offenders rehabilitation services include: (1) continuous aid services for establishing halfway houses and providing offenders with accommodation and necessary aid; (2) temporary aid services for, without providing accommodation, preparing places of next abode, supplying or lending money or goods, and providing life counseling; and (3) liaison and assistance services for undertaking liaison and assistance for continuous aid services, temporary aid services, and other services to assist the rehabilitation of offenders. At present, there are no juridicalpersons for offenders rehabilitation services that are engaged only in temporary aid services. Most of those engaged in liaison and assistance services also undertake temporary aid services. Thus, juridical persons for offenders rehabilitation services are broadly divided into those engaged in continuous aid services and those engaged in liaison and assistance services.
  As of April 1, 2002, there were 163 juridical persons for offenders rehabilitation services, with 1 more organization engaged in offenders rehabilitation services under license from the Minister of Justice (liaison and assistance service), which was not included in the juridical persons for offenders rehabilitation services.

  The Law for Offenders Rehabilitation Services came into force on April 1, 1996. In the supplementary provisions thereof, it was stipulated that the Law should be reviewed within 5 years from the date of enforcement, in consideration of changes in circumstances of crimes and other situations concerning rehabilitation services as well as the execution status of this Law. Recently, as the percentage of those who are placed under probationary supervision including parolees among those under continuous aid services increased, in particular those with difficulties in sustaining themselves such as elderly offenders and repeat offenders increased, halfway houses were expected to play a more effective role in implementing effective probationary supervision and there was a growing need for measures to improve delinquents with their social aptitudes. With the aim of achieving reform and rehabilitation of these offenders and delinquents, the amendment of the Law was considered in order to implement active measures to encourage them to improve their social aptitude at halfway houses. As a result, the "Law for the Partial Amendment of the Law for Offenders Rehabilitation Services, etc." was enacted on May 21, 2002 and came into force on June 10.
  Under the revised Law for Offenders Rehabilitation Services, "providing occupational guidance as well as and necessary life guidance for acquiring social aptitude" is included in the continuous aid services so as to enhance rehabilitation services to be provided at halfway houses. Furthermore, as a deregulation measure concerning offenders rehabilitation services, the conventional system is changed so as to only require notification instead of approval for carrying out temporary aid services and liaison and assistance services, and additional provisions are established in respect to securing transparency of management of the services.