Legislative Notice for Special Act Amendment from the 23rd
Suspended Execution Not Allowed for Reduction Even if Payment is Missed
The government is pushing for a legislative amendment that strengthens penalties, including imposing actual prison sentences without probation even in cases where attempted murder due to child abuse did not result in death.
On the 22nd, the Ministry of Justice announced that it will publicly notify the proposed amendment to the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse, which includes these provisions, from the 23rd until December 4th.
The main points of the amendment are ▲establishing punishment provisions for attempted child abuse murder ▲adding "handover to relatives, etc." to emergency measures ▲granting prosecutors the right to request extension, cancellation, or modification of temporary measures ▲and revising regulations to allow combined orders for education or program completion when issuing summary orders.
Under the current Child Abuse Punishment Act, if a parent or guardian abuses and kills a child under 18 years old, they are subject to the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for at least seven years. However, there are no specific punishment provisions for attempted murder cases, so the general criminal law on attempted murder has been applied. Under criminal law, attempted murder can be mitigated, allowing for probation if the sentence is three years or less.
In contrast, the amendment aims to establish a provision to punish attempted child abuse murder as such. If a child abuser attempts to kill a child but fails, the attempted child abuse murder charge will apply, preventing mitigation to probation.
For example, if a parent attempts to kill their child and then commit suicide but fails due to the child's resistance, or if the abuser attempts murder but only causes serious injury, the charge will be attempted child abuse murder rather than attempted murder. In such cases, even if mitigated as an attempt, probation will not be possible.
A Ministry of Justice official stated, "While judges may further mitigate sentences depending on individual cases, the basic standard is that attempted child abuse murder is a crime for which probation does not apply."
They added, "By establishing a punishment clause for attempted crimes, even if the sentence is halved from the statutory seven years for child abuse murder, it becomes three years and six months, which is not eligible for probation."
The amendment also includes provisions allowing a victim child in a psychologically unstable state due to abuse to be handed over to relatives or other acquaintances instead of a protective facility if desired. This is to enable the abused child to be protected in a familiar environment. Until now, emergency measures only allowed for the victim child to be placed in a protective facility to remove them from the abusive home.
Additionally, prosecutors will be able to request extension, cancellation, or modification of temporary measures ex officio. If the temporary order prohibiting the abuser's access is about to expire during an ongoing investigation and there is concern about reoffending, the prosecution can request an extension. Currently, extensions of temporary measures can only be made by judges ex officio, and cancellations only by judges ex officio or upon request by the abuser.
Furthermore, even if a child abuser receives a summary order rather than a guilty verdict, an order to complete education or programs necessary to prevent reoffending can be imposed concurrently.
The Ministry of Justice stated, "We will continue to improve laws and systems to strictly respond to child abuse crimes and faithfully protect the human rights of victim children."
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