[In-Depth Review] 2020, A Time Requiring Proactive Responses to Various Conflicts

Professor Kim Do-woo, Department of Police Science, Gyeongnam National University

The year 2019 was particularly marked by heightened hatred and conflicts stemming from crimes. Starting with the 'Sports World Sexual Violence Exposure Case' at the beginning of the year, crimes targeting women such as the 'Club Burning Sun Assault, Rape, and Drug Distribution Allegations' and the 'Sillim-dong Attempted Rape Case' became major social issues, drawing significant public attention. At the same time, gender disputes were more intense than ever, with incidents like the 'Bobae Dream Gomtang Restaurant Sexual Harassment Verdict,' the 'Seoul Daerim-dong Female Police Officer Controversy,' and the 'Sun Moon University Misandrist Stabbing Incident.'

Consecutive heinous crimes committed by individuals with schizophrenia, such as the 'Arson and Murder by Mentally Ill Person,' the 'Han River Torso Murder Case,' and the 'Jeju Island Torso Murder Case,' shocked the nation, further escalating societal hatred and conflicts toward these individuals.

Such hatred and conflicts are expected to diversify and persist into the new year. Along with generational conflicts due to an aging population, cultural conflicts arising from an increase in foreign residents, and social polarization have brought issues of inequality among social classes to the forefront, with conflicts unresolved. In the realm of crime, incidents and accidents stemming from class structures or ideological differences are anticipated to become major issues in 2020.

When conflicts intensify in a society, they can manifest as crimes targeting the majority belonging to a specific group. This is called a 'hate crime.' Hate crimes are criminal acts motivated by hostility or prejudice based on race, customs, nationality, ideology, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth. In Korea, typical hate crimes targeting race or religion are still relatively rare. However, as conflicts escalate and aggressive phenomena intensify, crimes related to groups subject to hatred?such as women, mentally ill individuals, the elderly, and foreigners?are a concern. Notably, major online communities have become powder kegs for hate crimes. Lawsuits and complaints related to defamation, insults, and threats arising from extreme expressions linked to gender, generation, and ideological conflicts are also expected to increase.

Western societies, which experienced hate crimes earlier than Korea, have long sought various legal, institutional, and social countermeasures. There are two main ways to legislate hate crimes: one is to explicitly state in law that hate crimes warrant enhanced sentencing; the other is to legalize the collection of hate crime statistics and the pursuit of countermeasures. In the United States, the Hate Crime Statistics Act (HCSA) was enacted in 1990, requiring local police agencies to collect and publish hate crime data, and in 1994, a law on enhanced penalties for hate crimes was established. If the perpetrator’s motive is based on prejudice, state courts are mandated to impose sentences at least three levels higher.

Currently, Korean laws contain no provisions regarding hate crimes. Police crime statistics and prosecution crime analyses do not treat hate crimes as a separate category. Considering the reality of Korean society, where conflicts between gender, generation, culture, and class are intensifying, there is a growing need for proactive measures against hate crimes in Korea. To this end, it is essential first to analyze the actual forms and frequency of hate crimes occurring, and based on this, the prompt enactment of related legislation should follow.