[2021 Budget] Ministry of Justice Focuses on Public Safety... Budget Draws Attention in Preparation for Investigation Authority Adjustment

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice will focus next year's budget on protecting the human rights of socially vulnerable and marginalized groups. To this end, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution plan to utilize a budget of 4.3 trillion won next year, not only for simple punishment of criminals but also for education and electronic monitoring of these individuals.

Looking at the '2021 Budget Plan' passed at the Cabinet meeting on the 1st, the government will spend a total of 21.8 trillion won next year to maintain public order and stability for the people. This is about 1 trillion won more than the 20.8 trillion won spent this year, and the government plans to increase the budget by 1 trillion won annually until 2024.

First, the Ministry of Justice, together with the police, will support and protect the human rights of victims of crimes such as child abuse and sexual violence, as well as socially vulnerable and marginalized groups. Representative measures include expanding specialized child protection agencies for the prevention of child abuse and protection and treatment of victimized children, developing technology to delete videos and block harmful media for female victims, victim counseling, and production and distribution of preventive education content to respond to digital sex crimes at each stage.

In particular, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution will strengthen management of criminals with mental illnesses and sex offenders. The related budget is expected to be 4.3235 trillion won, about 250 billion won more than this year's allocation of 4.0737 trillion won.

For sex offenders and individuals with mental illnesses, the plan is to focus on strengthening education and psychological treatment, with 900 million won allocated for mandatory courses. One-on-one dedicated electronic monitoring for those at high risk of reoffending, as well as electronic monitoring for bail and parolees, will also be expanded. A new budget of 1.9 billion won has been allocated for electronic monitoring of bail recipients, and 11 billion won will be spent on electronic monitoring of parolees. Additionally, the prosecution plans to expand investigation rooms dedicated to women and children.

Budget changes due to the adjustment of investigative authority, one of the biggest issues within the prosecution and police, are also notable. Accordingly, the prosecution and police plan to reinforce investigative equipment capable of responding to new types of crimes such as digital sex crimes. Representative scientific investigation equipment includes portable DNA analyzers and fingerprint vacuum field equipment.

Furthermore, next year's budget for the courts and the Constitutional Court has been allocated at 2.1961 trillion won. This is similar to this year's 2.166 trillion won and is known to include extensive support for court-appointed attorney fees.

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