Do you know what a "pre-delinquent juvenile" is?
The SBS investigative program "Unwanteds" (hereinafter "The Unanswered Questions"), which aired yesterday (October 31), tracked the issues surrounding "pre-delinquent juveniles" and the "Juvenile Classification Review Board."
Juveniles brought before courts under the designation of "pre-delinquent"—meaning they have not committed a crime yet but are deemed likely to do so—stood in front of the camera. They described the Juvenile Classification Review Board, where they spent time, as "a juvenile detention center disguised under the name of a classification review board."
A pre-delinquent juvenile refers to individuals aged 10 to under 19 who have not committed crimes but are subject to protective measures under the Juvenile Act due to the possibility of committing offenses. Consequently, these juveniles found themselves in court simply for running away from home, smoking, or wandering the streets at night.
Many of them were escorted to the Juvenile Classification Review Board under the guise of "protection" and detained there for a certain period.
Information about the pre-delinquent juvenile notification system has been widely shared among parents of adolescent teenagers starting to show deviant behavior. Choosing notification as a last resort is intended to protect uncontrollable children from larger crimes.
Consequently, some teenagers were placed in the Juvenile Classification Review Board following hearings triggered by notifications from their biological parents. One informant stated that they were placed in the review board due to their father's notification and still could not understand such an action.
The child's father explained that he chose the notification because he had no other way to steer his wandering child back on track. However, he caught attention by admitting that seeing his child separated from parents and escorted away right after the hearing made him think, "Oh, something is wrong. I wanted to ask them to give my child back."
Contrary to the expectation that the returning child would change, the child engaged in further deviant behavior out of a sense of betrayal toward the family, only worsening the father-child relationship.
Recently, the father and son even engaged in a physical scuffle and were penalized for offenses including violence against lineal ascendants and child abuse, respectively.
One child, who suffered sexual assault by "helpers" after running away from home, was detained despite her family's missing person report and subsequently placed in the Juvenile Classification Review Board.
The child, labeled a pre-delinquent simply for running away, lived alongside actual juvenile offenders without segregation despite being a victim, and ultimately received a six-month protective custody referral and two years of probation through a court trial.
After returning home, the child blamed herself for everything and even engaged in self-harm. Explaining that she ran away because she enjoyed spending time with friends and could not return home out of fear of scolding as time dragged on, she thus became a victim of a sex crime. Moreover, despite being a victim, she could not disclose this fact externally and had to bear the stigma of having been to a juvenile facility, wearing a smart watch that monitored nighttime activities even though it was not a juvenile detention center.
In stark contrast, it was revealed that the 14 male perpetrators are currently undergoing investigation and trial without detention under the rationale that there is no risk of flight, causing shock.
In response, an official from the Juvenile Classification Review Board stated, "Children without delinquency such as violence or theft are referred to as simple pre-delinquents. However, many of them urgently need protection due to risks like suicide attempts or being victims of prostitution," emphasizing that "the focus is on protecting the students."
An expert expressed regret, saying, "Children and adolescents suffering from sexual exploitation are frequently reported as pre-delinquent juveniles and detained. It is a way to isolate children from dangerous environments. But is that truly the best choice? Being a victim yet standing trial with the status of a criminal makes me think that pre-delinquent juveniles are viewed as presumptive criminals."
Children reported through notifications filed by the director of a child welfare facility complained that they were not the only ones reported from that facility, accusing the director of using notifications as a threat. They also questioned whether they easily became pre-delinquent juveniles simply because of their background in a care institution.
In response, the director of the welfare facility explained, "The problem with the facility is that 100 children live together." The director stated that when children rebelled and refused to go to school despite persuasion, leading others to copy them, there was no choice but to use the notification system as a last resort.
The director added, "I would have done the same for my biological child. Doing nothing is neglect and abandonment," noting that currently not a single child refuses to go to school after the utilization of the notification system.
While some agreed with the welfare director's actions, others expressed concern. A facility official pointed out, "If they continuously committed crimes or caused serious social trouble, we would not oppose using the notification system. However, these children did not cross that line."
The official added with regret, "If the children had more people around them to lean on, they might not have reached the point of notification," criticizing the practice of branding children as pre-delinquents when they have not even committed crimes as an excessively violent method.
An expert pointed out regarding the pre-delinquent juvenile system and notifications, "It is anachronistic thinking; the era when juvenile delinquency laws were formulated in 1958 is vastly different from today."
However, a legal professional remarked, "Is there an alternative when the pre-delinquent juvenile law does not exist? If a system capable of protecting vulnerable children precedes it, state intervention could gradually retreat and be minimized, but reality is not like that."
Points were also raised that a shift in societal perception toward pre-delinquent juveniles is necessary. An expert stated, "For the past 70 years, roles and responsibilities have been dumped solely onto the judiciary. Alternatives exist. This is a problem that must be resolved through the combined deployment of diverse welfare support systems and resources within the communities where the children live."
Another expert pointed out, "There is no verification of effectiveness showing that the pre-delinquent system actually works. Following verification showing a lack of effectiveness in other foreign countries, children are protected through education and welfare instead."
Regarding opinions that multiple ministries should seek improvement measures together, the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Justice stated its stance: "We maintain the direction for improvement that excessive dispositions should be restricted. We plan to actively support related legislative discussions moving forward."
(Reported by Kim Hyo-jung)
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