Nine miniSTR loci were analyzed in 191 unrelated individuals from Korea using three multiplex PCR systems (multiplex I: D1S1677, D2S441 and D4S2364; multiplex II: D10S1248, D14S1434 and D22S1045; multiplex III: D12S391, D16S3253 and D20S161). Due to the short PCR amplicons (< 145 bp), miniSTR systems can effectively be used in forensic analysis with highly degraded DNAs. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters were calculated to evaluate their usefulness in forensic casework. The Exact Test demonstrated that all loci surveyed here were found to be no deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, except two miniSTR markers (D4S2364 and D16S3253). When we compared the distribution of genetic variation of six miniSTR markers (D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364, D10S1248, D14S1434 and D22S1045), the Exact Test revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) between the Korean sample studied here and almost all of other samples of East Asian and European populations. The combined probability of match calculated from nine miniSTR loci was 1.28 x 10(-8), which is high degree of polymorphism. Thus, the miniSTR system, combined with other valuable miniSTR markers, may be suitable for recovering useful information in analyzing degraded DNA samples.