Criticism of Rape Charges Only Established When Assault or Threats Occur in Korea
Global Standard Punishes Without Consent
Promotion of Advanced 'Stalker Prevention Law'
Establishment of Dedicated Digital Sex Crime Units for Nth Room Cases
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, the preparatory committee chairman of the People’s Party (tentative name), announced on the 18th that he will amend the Criminal Act to strictly punish sexual crimes based on the principle of explicit consent.
At a press conference held at the National Assembly Press Hall on the same day, Chairman Ahn said, “In our country, rape is established only when the victim is subjected to violence or threats to the extent that resistance is impossible or extremely difficult. In contrast, the global standard is that ‘sexual acts without consent should be punished.’ If an attempt was made to engage in sexual relations in a situation where refusal was expressed or explicit consent cannot be assumed, it will be punished as sexual assault,” he said.
He pointed out, “We will promote a stalking prevention law at the level of advanced countries to prevent crimes in advance and create a society where women are safe. In cases of sexual crimes, stalking often precedes, such as online stalking, loitering near the victim’s home, searching through mail, following, physical contact, or breaking into the home. However, unlike other advanced countries, our country has had no separate legal regulations regarding stalking.”
He continued, “First, we will simplify the procedure to quickly process temporary restraining orders against stalkers and include email, phone calls, and SNS in this. We will impose aggravated punishment for stalking minors, possession of weapons, and repeated acts, and strengthen penalties to the level of advanced countries by punishing habitual stalkers with severe imprisonment,” he added.
Chairman Ahn said, “We will completely revise the Domestic Violence Punishment Act to strictly punish domestic violence. Now, a comprehensive revision aimed at ‘victim protection’ is necessary. The scope will be expanded to include those connected by blood or marriage to the perpetrator, those who have children with the perpetrator, those who have lived together or are living together, and dating partners or former partners, thus including dating violence,” he stated.
Chairman Ahn emphasized, “We will establish a dedicated department for digital sexual crimes such as the Nth Room case and strengthen punishment by amending related laws including the Information and Communications Network Act. Digital sexual crime information is mainly distributed on sites with servers overseas. We will set up a dedicated digital sexual crime department and promote international cooperation,” he stressed.
Chairman Ahn said, “We will strengthen a comprehensive system for preventing and supporting women’s violence, including enhancing gender equality education. We will supplement the standard sex education guidelines implemented in schools to include gender equality and human rights integrated education in the regular curriculum. In addition, we will expand shelters and housing support for female victims of violence and make support for living expenses, medical expenses, and accompanying children more realistic,” he said.
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