Ruling Party and Government to Promote Abolition of Statute of Limitations on Child and Adolescent Sexual Crimes

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The government and the ruling party have announced measures to address the Telegram Nth Room case, including abolishing the minimum sentence and statute of limitations for child and adolescent sex crimes.

On the 5th, the Democratic Party revealed this outcome following a party-government consultation held in the party leader's conference room at the National Assembly. Attendees included Baek Hye-ryun, head of the Democratic Party's Digital Sex Crime Eradication Task Force, Kim Oh-soo, Deputy Minister of Justice, Kim Hee-kyung, Deputy Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and Nam Gu-jun, Director of the Cyber Safety Bureau at the National Police Agency.

The party and government agreed on the principle of strict investigation and strengthened punishment for digital sex crimes. In addition to setting minimum sentences and abolishing the statute of limitations, they are actively considering expanding the upper limits of punishments, imposing aggravated penalties for repeat offenders, and removing upper limits on such penalties.

They also decided to strengthen legislative support cooperation to promote amendments to the three laws preventing recurrence of the Nth Room case (Criminal Act, Sexual Violence Punishment Act, Information and Communications Network Act) and the Youth Protection Act within the 20th National Assembly session.

Support systems for victims will be reinforced. Centered on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, support for digital sex crime victims will be expanded through cooperation among related ministries such as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office using AI-based systems, as well as increasing personnel and budget for the Digital Sex Crime Support Center. Protection and support for sexually exploited children and adolescents as victims will be strengthened. Furthermore, sex crime prevention education and awareness improvement campaigns will be expanded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.