제 30 호 Proposal to Lower Juvenile Offender Age Fails
Why not being lowered
Kicker: SOCIETY
Proposal to Lower Juvenile Offender Age Fails
: Why not being lowered
By Leesoi, Reporter
(photo by Gemini)
President Lee tried to lower the age of the Juvenile offender through the government, announcing at a cabinet meeting on Feb. that he would consider lowering the age limit for criminal juveniles who receive protectives instead of criminal punishment. However, it was concluded that the current age limit would be maintained 65 days after ordering the downward review of the age limit. The social dialogue council for the discussion of the age of juveniles held its last general meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on the afternoon of the 30th and passed a recommendation to maintain the current age limit for juveniles under 14.
The reason for the Concerns Over Juvenile Crime
Then first, what is the ‘juvenile offender’? Under the Korean Criminal Law, those under the age of 14 are classified as criminal minors, so they are not criminally liable for committing crimes, of which are subject to protective measures under the Juvenile Act. However, about 70 years have passed since the enactment of the Criminal Law in 1953, citing changes in adolescents' mental maturity, an increase in juvenile crimes, and the ferocity of some crimes, it has been argued that the age standard for juveniles should be lowered to 13. In fact, the number of cases related to juveniles has tripled to over 20,000 per year in the nine years from 2015 to 2024, especially with sexual violence crimes increasing more explosively, indicating that the nature of juvenile offenders' crimes has deteriorated dramatically.
In some cases, a boy who was born in 2012 and is in the second grade of middle school this year filmed a video mocking the police in a police car and distributed it online, fully aware that he was not punished because he was a tactless minor. The student had already committed several crimes, including previous offenses involving unlicensed driving, but among the posts posted directly on his SNS account, the "court transfer decision" document proving that he had been sent to the family court for driving without a license in the past was included, which caused shock and anger among citizens.
An Ongoing Social Debate
As juvenile crime continues to rise, many citizens are calling for stronger legal accountability for minors. Critics argue that some adolescents are fully aware that they cannot receive criminal punishment under the current law and intentionally exploit the system. The increase in violent crimes, including assault, theft, and sexual offenses, has further intensified public concern.
Some also point out that modern adolescents mature faster than previous generations due to increased exposure to media and technology. Because of this, supporters of lowering the age threshold argue that age alone should not determine criminal responsibility. They believe that serious crimes should carry corresponding consequences regardless of the offender’s age.
Public anger has grown over cases in which juvenile offenders appeared to mock the legal system online after committing crimes. As a result, many citizens argue that the current Juvenile Act places too much emphasis on protecting offenders while failing to fully consider victims and public safety.
However, the purpose of juvenile law is not simply to alleviate the punishment of minors. It is to detect delinquency early, reduce the risk factors around it, and help them return to school, home, and society. However, the problem is that the Internet has developed extremely, making it very easy to have negative values, and the foundation of our society is still very vulnerable to boys. In many cases, families, schools, peer relationships, and mental health problems are intricately intertwined in the background of juvenile delinquency. Therefore, long-term education, counseling, family intervention, and community connection are essential for boys who aim at edification, rather than simply correcting them through strict monitoring and control. In this respect, it is expected that there will be some difficulties in lowering the age of the Juvenile offender. If lowering the standard from 14 to 13 is successful, I think there will be a very big change in society. Whether to drop, which will be decided by further discussion, will be announced in two months.
Sources:
https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/society
https://biz.chosun.com/policy/politics/president_office
