Appellate Court Increases Sentences for Juvenile Offenders, Citing Need for 'True Education'

"Even if they are young, they cannot escape responsibility."

On June 24, in Courtroom 301 of the Busan High Court.

Five juvenile offenders, indicted on charges including violations of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, stood in the defendant's seat to receive their appellate court sentencing.

A heavy silence filled the courtroom as Presiding Judge Park Woon-sam of the Busan High Court's Criminal Division 2 read the reasons for the ruling.

The defendants were charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a female student from the same school, as well as filming and possessing sexually exploitative material.

In the first trial, three of the perpetrators were sentenced to prison, while two received suspended sentences.

One other juvenile offender was tried alongside them in the first trial, but his sentence was finalized as he did not appeal.

The appellate court rejected the claims of factual error and unfair sentencing raised by the defendants identified as A and B.

"Considering all circumstances, including phone calls and text messages between the victim and her acquaintances, transcripts of conversations between the defendants and the victim, recordings from the time of the incident, and the victim's testimony, there is no issue in recognizing their guilt," Judge Park stated. "Yet, the defendants continue to offer excuses that are difficult to accept even at this stage of the trial."

The court accepted the prosecutor's appeal, which argued that the first-trial sentences for A and B were too lenient, and increased their punishments.

Defendant A, who was sentenced to a maximum of four years and a minimum of three years in prison in the first trial, received a sentence of a maximum of five years and a minimum of four years in the appellate court.

Defendant B, who was sentenced to a maximum of two years and a minimum of one year and six months in the first trial, received a heavier sentence of a maximum of three years and a minimum of two years in the appellate court.

The original sentences for the remaining three juvenile offenders were upheld.

Judge Park sternly rebuked the juvenile offenders while mentioning the victim's situation.

"After the incident, the victim transferred schools, but rumors spread, eventually forcing her to drop out. She is still receiving psychiatric treatment and has not been able to return to a normal life," Judge Park said. "The defendants caused irreparable pain to the victim, and even though they are young, they cannot escape responsibility for that."

He remarked, "I hear that a drama called 'True Education' is popular these days," adding, "Looking at this case, such thoughts come to mind."

He lamented, "If the victim did nothing wrong and was a victim of school violence, shouldn't the perpetrators be the ones transferred, not the victim? Why did the victim have to try to please the perpetrators just to escape such a situation?"

Judge Park also pointed out, "Even after they finish serving the sentences imposed by this court, defendants A and B have a much higher chance of returning to society than the victim."

Judge Park explained that there were limitations to significantly increasing the sentences due to the fact that the defendants are juveniles.

At the end of the sentencing, he added, "We accepted the prosecutor's appeal, but we did not increase the sentences by a very large margin. The fact that the defendants are juveniles held us back from drastically increasing the sentences."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.