조선시대에는 부정한 청탁과 뇌물 풍조가 만연하였다. 위로는 중앙의 권력자들인 정승·판서로부터 아래로는 내시와 아전에 이르기까지 뇌물을 받았다. 그리고 지방에서는 관찰사나 수령들이 집중적으로 뇌물을 챙겼다. 관찰사는 수령들에게, 수령들은 상인이나 백성들에게서 뇌물을 거두어들였다. 당시에는 또한 지방의 관찰사나 수령들이 집중적으로 뇌물을 바쳤다. 관찰사들은 중앙의 권세가들에게 줄을 대어 출셋길을 마련하기 위해 뇌물을 주었고, 수령들도 권세가들에게 뇌물을 주어 중앙으로 진출하려고 하였으며, 그들의 인사에 영향을 미치는 관찰사들에게도 뇌물을 바쳤다. 그러면 조선시대인들은 왜 뇌물을 주었을까? 우선, 양반관리들은 인사청탁을 위해서 이조 판서나 재상 등에게 뇌물을 바치는 경우가 가장 많았다. 그 다음, 일반백성들은 요즈음처럼 군대징집을 면제받으려고 하거나, 세금 감면, 형벌 감형, 재판 승소 등을 위해서 주로 뇌물을 제공하였다. 조선 전기에는 뇌물의 액수에 따라 뇌물을 받은 본인은 최고 사형으로부터, 최하 笞刑에 처하도록 규정되어 있었다. 심지어는 죄인의 얼굴이나 팔뚝에 살을 따고 홈을 내어 먹물로 죄명을 찍어 넣는 刺字刑을 가하도록 하였다. 뇌물수수자 본인만이 아니라 그 자손에게도 연좌제를 적용하여 과거를 보지 못하게 하고, 요직에의 진출을 불허하였다. 또한 뇌물을 받은 자와 함께 뇌물을 준 자도 아울러 처벌하게 되어 있었고, 뇌물수수자를 천거한 사람도 벌을 주도록 규정되어 있었다. 이렇게 뇌물과 관련된 범죄에 대하여 엄중한 처벌을 하도록 있었지만, 실제로는 이것이 제대로 지켜지지 않았다. 특히 임금의 총애를 받는 大臣이나 권세가들의 경우 불문애 부쳐지거나 경미한 처벌에 그치는 경우가 많았다. 이처럼 고관 등에 대한 처벌이 미온적이다 보니 뇌물비리가 사라지지 않았던 것이다.
The illegal request practice, including official position or the giving and taking of bribery have been widespread at the present society without breaking as in the early of Chusun Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that the only man who free from bribe at those times was the King. From the upper officers like prime minister, ministers of six boards, and deputy ministers to eunuchs and petty officials of a provincial town these received bribery. So did slaves. Provincial governors or county magistrates received intensively the bribe in regions. For example, provincial governors received bribe from county magistrates under his control areas, whereas county magistrates received it from merchant class or common people. In those days provincial governors or county magistnltes in region offered mainly the bribe to influential family’s high official, who wield power in state administration. Why people in Chosun society gave a bribe? Above all, in order to request for personnel management the officers gave a bribe to ministers of the board for personnel management or prime ministers. The next thing was that common people offered it in order to not recruit the army, to cut the tax, to reduce the life imprisonment, to win the lawsuit, and so on. On the other hand, bribees in Chosun society were suffered such punishment as the highest death sentence(死刑), penal servitude(徒刑), banishment(流刑), flogging(杖刑), whipping(答刑) according to sum of bribe money. Furthermore, there was a punishment branded the name of charge on criminal’s face and their forearms. Besides, the person in question received the bribe as well as their posterity did not only take state examination(科擧) but also were not permitted the important post in the government under the provision of the guilt-by-association system(綠坐制). Nevertheless, persons who give and take the bribe were punished together, and then there were thc provision that person who recommended them for the official position in adminstration should be punished. In relation to the crime of bribe, although thcsc provisions were heavily punishable by law of chosun Dynasty, these provision actually did not abide by. Especially a lot of cascs in which state minister who gained the favor of thc king or the influential family’s officcr involved, were dealt with the minor punishmcnt. On the other hand, common people, the petty official class like Hyangni (鄕史), military officers, and county magistratcs were dealt with heavy punishment. It seems to me that Like this, the punishments of high-ranking officials were dealt with minor problems, so that therc had been many of bribe cases constantly.