President Lee Says Age Threshold for Criminal Minors 'Needs to Be Lowered'

President Lee Jae-myung stated today (the 14th) regarding discussions on lowering the age threshold for criminal minors—currently those aged 10 or older and under 14—that "it seems we need to lower it."

President Lee made the remarks today during the discussion session of a Cabinet meeting after hearing a report from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on building public consensus regarding the age threshold for criminal minors.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyung reported at the meeting that, according to the government's public consensus process, the most common opinion was to lower the age threshold for criminal minors by one year, to those aged 10 or older and under 13, but only for violent, serious, or repeat offenses.

"The issue is whether to lower it across the board or not, and there seems to be little disagreement that it should be lowered," President Lee said. "It does not seem right to maintain the current status."

When Prime Minister Han Seung-soo noted that "a fairly high percentage of people came out in favor of lowering it," President Lee replied, "Then let us decide that we will lower it."

President Lee added, "Lowering it by two or three years across the board seems a bit excessive. If we are to discuss it, perhaps by one year," and asked, "But what about serious crimes?"

He continued, "While the media mainly reports on extreme, exceptional cases, there are instances where they commit crimes saying, 'I won't be punished because I am a criminal minor.'" He pointed out, "Looking at that, in certain cases, lowering it by just one year might not be enough."

"For example, a 12-year-old could commit murder or a serious crime while fully aware of what they are doing. They could also be taking advantage of it," he added.

Furthermore, President Lee said, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's opinion is to not lower it across the board but to partially lower it by just one year for specific crimes, but isn't that too weak?" He added, "Aren't there quite a lot of cases globally where the age is set at 12?"

President Lee mentioned, "In any case, what remains is whether to lower the age limit for all crimes, or to lower it by one or two years only for serious, repeat, or violent crimes," adding, "If we do lower it, the maximum seems to be two years."

He then said, "Let us not make a final decision today," and added, "Let us have another discussion on this within this scope next time. Let us gather public opinion again and conduct a public opinion poll."

He continued, "There are people who think that (criminal minors) are not punished at all, but they are punished, and (if the age limit for criminal minors is lowered) that punishment would be strengthened," adding, "I will listen to opinions again under that premise."

Meanwhile, during the discussion, when Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho mentioned that "in the case of juvenile offenders, even if they serve time in a juvenile detention center, no criminal record remains, so it does not pose any obstacle to entering public office in the future," President Lee laughed and said, "So that is why the talk about 'Lee Jae-myung's juvenile detention center' came up. Because the record disappeared."

This is interpreted as a reference to the case of former U.S. Liberty University professor Mostan (Korean name Dan Hyun-myung), who is currently under investigation in Korea on charges of making false statements, such as claiming in a press conference last year that President Lee was involved in a murder case and was imprisoned in a juvenile detention center during his youth.

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