"Must Face Appropriate Punishment"... Will Yoon Keep His Pledge to Lower the Age of Criminal Responsibility for Juveniles?

Will the Age of Criminal Responsibility for Juvenile Offenders Lowered to 14? Ministry of Justice "Actively Participating in Legal Revision"
Juvenile Offenders Committing Serious Crimes Increasing Annually... 6,286 in 2017 → 8,474 in 2021

As crimes committed by teenagers become increasingly brutal, there are growing calls to abolish or revise the juvenile offender system. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "The age of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders should be lowered."

As juvenile crimes exploiting the system for juvenile offenders (those aged 10 and above but under 14, who are criminally immature) continue, the Ministry of Justice is reportedly considering lowering the age criteria for juvenile offenders, drawing public attention. Previously, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol pledged to lower the age of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders from the current 14 to 12 years old. This proposal has been welcomed by many citizens. However, since revising the law requires careful consideration of the effects on juvenile offender punishment, future discussions are being closely watched.

On the 29th, during the political, judicial, and administrative division briefing of the Presidential Transition Committee, the Ministry of Justice reported that it would support discussions on the amendment of the Juvenile Act related to lowering the age of juvenile offenders, which is currently pending in the National Assembly.

Under current law, those aged 10 and above but under 14 are classified as juvenile offenders without criminal responsibility and receive protective measures. This means that from the 4th grade of elementary school to the 1st grade of middle school, they receive protective measures such as community service or transfer to a juvenile training center instead of criminal punishment. The heaviest measure is transfer to a juvenile training center for up to two years, but even this does not leave a criminal record. Those under 10 are classified as "delinquent juveniles" and cannot be punished even if they commit a crime.

However, the Ministry of Justice has not clearly expressed a stance for or against lowering the age. The specific age criteria have not been discussed, but it is known that lowering the age from 14 to 12 is being seriously considered at present.

During the recent presidential election, candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, including President-elect Yoon, promised to lower the age of juvenile offenders. President-elect Yoon pledged to lower the age from under 14 to under 12, while Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party did not specify an exact age but said he would determine an appropriate age based on adolescent development and social awareness.

The background for calling to lower the age of juvenile offenders is related to the increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles. According to statistics, the number of juvenile offenders who committed violent crimes over the past five years was ▲6,286 in 2017, ▲6,014 in 2018, ▲7,081 in 2019, ▲7,535 in 2020, and ▲8,474 in 2021. In particular, according to the Supreme Court's statistics on 'juvenile offender crime reports,' arson cases increased from 57 in 2017 to 77 in 2021, and rape cases rose from 11 to 21 during the same period.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and Archbishop Jeong Soon-taek of the Seoul Archdiocese are having a tea meeting on the morning of the 30th at the Catholic Seoul Archdiocese Office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by the Transition Committee Press Corps

Another issue is the recent increase in juveniles exploiting the fact that they are juvenile offenders to commit crimes. In February, a 13-year-old boy, A, stole money more than 20 times from an unmanned store but was not criminally punished, causing public outrage. When caught by the police, he reportedly uttered abusive language and insults, saying, "I'm a juvenile offender under 14 years old; can you punish me?"

Given this situation, voices expecting the lowering of the juvenile offender age are growing louder. Since the Juvenile Act was enacted in 1953 and the current juvenile offender criteria have been maintained for nearly 70 years, there are calls for new standards.

Gu, a worker in his 20s, said, "Times have changed a lot compared to before. Nowadays, children and juveniles sometimes commit crimes more cruel than adults. Especially, cunning juveniles often exploit the juvenile offender system. To reduce such crimes, the age of juvenile offenders needs to be lowered."

Another office worker in his 30s, Choi, said, "School violence is becoming more serious. I support the lowering of the age," but added, "Criminal records should also be kept. Stronger measures are needed to reduce crimes."

Legislative attempts to lower the juvenile offender age from 14 to 13 or 12 have been ongoing but have repeatedly failed to pass the National Assembly. Seven bills to lower the age were proposed in both the 20th and 21st National Assembly sessions but were all discarded.

The Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) also opposed lowering the juvenile offender age in a 2018 statement. Minbyun argued, "Foreign cases show that expanding and strengthening criminal punishment has not achieved the goal of reducing juvenile crime," and "punitive policies are not an effective or appropriate response to juvenile offenders."

Meanwhile, Won Il-hee, senior spokesperson for the Transition Committee, said at a regular briefing held on the 30th in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, "The issue of lowering the juvenile offender age was discussed in the Ministry of Justice's briefing on the 29th," adding, "The Ministry of Justice did not explicitly express a stance for or against."

Spokesperson Won added, "The Ministry of Justice's position is to actively participate in legislative discussions pending in the National Assembly from the perspective of strict response to crime."