▲ Won Min-kyung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, reports the results of public deliberation on the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles during a cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on the 14th.
The government has decided to proceed with additional public consultation procedures regarding the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles, known as "chokbeop" juveniles (juveniles who are exempt from criminal punishment).
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reported the results of the public deliberation and recommendations for institutional improvement during a cabinet meeting held today (the 14th).
According to the Ministry, a survey of 212 citizens who participated in the public deliberation process showed that support for a conditional lowering of the age of criminal responsibility rose from 45.8% before the deliberation to 46.7% after, an increase of 0.9 percentage points.
Support for a blanket lowering of the age decreased from 37.3% to 30.2%, a drop of 7.1 percentage points, while support for maintaining the current standard increased from 5.7% to 17.0%, a rise of 11.3 percentage points.
In separate online public hearings conducted with 199 citizens and 43 adolescents, the opinion favoring a blanket lowering was the most prevalent, at 78% and 67%, respectively.
Taking these results into comprehensive consideration, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has concluded that the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered from the current "10 to under 14 years old" to "10 to under 13 years old" in cases involving violent, serious, or repeat offenses.
Under current criminal and juvenile laws, the most severe measure that can be imposed on a juvenile offender is a "long-term commitment to a juvenile reformatory" for up to two years. In contrast, the maximum legal penalty for juvenile offenders aged 14 to under 19 is 15 years in prison, meaning the level of punishment would effectively increase.
However, a final decision on the age threshold has not yet been reached.
The government is expected to conduct further consultations on whether to lower the age threshold across the board or conditionally, as suggested by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
During the cabinet meeting, President Lee Jae-myung stated, "It seems we need to lower it," but added, "Let us discuss further within the scope of whether to lower it partially or for all crimes, and whether to lower it by one year or two years."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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