Repeated Child Abuse... Ministry of Justice Extends Operation of 'Special Task Force for Child Rights Protection'

The Special Task Force Scheduled to End This Week... Park Beom-gye Decides to Extend for 6 Months to Promote Fact-Finding Investigation and Legal Revisions

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice is strengthening its response system in light of repeated child abuse cases. The 'Special Task Force for the Protection of Children's Rights,' launched immediately after Minister Park Beom-gye's inauguration, will have its activity period extended, and additional surveys and legal revisions aimed at preventing child abuse crimes will commence.

According to the legal community on the 18th, Minister Park recently approved an adjustment to the directive extending the operation period of the Special Task Force for the Protection of Children's Rights, which was set to conclude this week, until February next year.

The Special Task Force for the Protection of Children's Rights is a temporary organization established to prevent a second Jeong-in case. Although the Ministry of Justice, as the department responsible for the 'Child Abuse Punishment Act,' has implemented various policies to prevent crimes, continuous incidents such as the Gumi girl case, the Yongin nephew water torture case, and the motel-living girl assault case have occurred since the Jeong-in case, prompting the establishment of this task force for effective response.

Minister Park's directives on protecting children's rights were also reflected. At the National Assembly confirmation hearing before his inauguration, Minister Park stated, "Our government has introduced many child protection policies, but regrettably, child abuse crimes like the Jeong-in case continue unabated," adding, "I will create a special organization within the Ministry of Justice to protect children's rights and foster an environment where children can grow well."

Following the establishment of the special task force immediately after his inauguration, in May, he visited prosecutors dedicated to child abuse cases and emphasized, "Not a single child abuse case should be overlooked," and "Prosecutors must demonstrate democratic leadership to protect children's rights comprehensively from the outset."

With the extension of the task force's activity period, the Ministry of Justice plans to immediately begin additional surveys on child abuse and improvements to the criminal justice response system. Building on previous efforts that laid the groundwork for protecting the rights of victimized children in judicial procedures, such as the 'Public Defender System for Victimized Children,' the ministry will now also consider strengthening the expertise of personnel responding to child abuse.

In particular, revisions to laws such as the Special Act on Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes will be pursued. The Ministry has already formed a 'Task Force for Improving the Criminal Justice System Responding to Child Abuse' with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to comprehensively review the system, and plans to promote inter-agency cooperation in the mid to long term. Additionally, measures to prevent recidivism will be enhanced by strengthening information sharing and coordination with probation officers who monitor offenders and child protection agencies responsible for the aftercare of victimized children.

A Ministry of Justice official stated, "More than half of the child abuse cases reported to child protection agencies do not become criminal cases, so judicial measures to protect victimized children are not properly implemented," adding, "Through the activities of the special task force, we will review various institutional improvements to reduce public outrage and anxiety about child abuse."

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