Co-resident Family Crime Victims Number Around 27,000 Annually... Family Relationships Crumbling

[Known Faces]② Can't Even Trust Family

Nearly 19,700 Cases of Domestic Violence Against Elders Last Year
Severe Punishment for Direct Ancestor Homicide

Filial Homicide Crimes Classified as General Cases Without Aggravated Punishment

About Two Cases of Sexual Violence Among Relatives Daily

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Seungyoon Song] Mr. A, in his 50s, wielded a weapon against his mother at their home in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do last February. The reason was that she nagged him to "cut down on drinking" after he came home drunk. The court sentenced Mr. A to four years in prison.

Mr. B, in his 20s living in Daegu, discharged his father from the hospital after he was admitted due to a cerebral hemorrhage, then left him neglected in a room, resulting in death from pneumonia and severe malnutrition. It was reported that Mr. B testified to the prosecution that he ignored his father's calls for help, saying "son, son," because he judged there was no chance of recovery. Mr. B was also sentenced to four years in prison by the court.

The charges applied to Mr. A and Mr. B in these two cases were 'filicide' (존속살해). Both received the same prison sentence in the first trial and their appeals were dismissed. Although the reasons and methods differed, the court judged both as the same crime.

According to statistics from the National Police Agency, last year, the number of victims of crimes committed by cohabiting relatives reached 27,389. Specifically, assault was the most common with 19,721 cases, followed by injury with 4,078 cases, and threats with 3,413 cases. There were also 95 victims who were confined by family members, and 82 victims who were killed by family members.

Crimes by relatives that threaten the safety of one's own family have also emerged as a serious social problem. The causes of crimes among relatives are diverse. Suspicion between spouses can escalate uncontrollably, with anger toward the spouse becoming a motive for crime, which is already widespread. There are countless cases of crimes committed impulsively due to conflicts between parents and children. As in the case of Mr. B mentioned earlier, 'caregiver homicide' occurring while caring for a sick family member is not a distant issue.

There are also legal blind spots. Under current law, killing a biological parent or spouse's direct ascendant is punished more severely than general murder. The sentence for murder is death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for five years or more, but filicide carries death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for seven years or more. However, there is no separate aggravated punishment provision for killing one's own child or descendant (비속살해). Since the 2014 'Songpa Three Mothers Incident,' filicide by parents has been repeated every year, but it is still classified only as a general murder case, with no separate statistics.

The issue of sexual violence among relatives is also at a level that can no longer be ignored. Sexual violence by relatives was recorded as 776 cases in 2017, 858 cases in 2018, 775 cases in 2019, and 776 cases in 2020. This amounts to about two cases per day. In particular, six out of ten victims were sexually assaulted by cohabiting relatives.

Professor Dowoo Kim of the Department of Police Science at Gyeongnam National University Law School said, "This is no longer an individual problem but a social pathology arising from the breakdown of family functions. Recognition of this and government-wide intervention to restore family functions are necessary."