6 out of 10 Sexual Crime Cases Receive Reduced Sentences When Showing 'Sincere Remorse'

According to Supreme Court data disclosed by Park Seong-jun, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 11,336 people received suspended sentences in sex crime cases from 2016 to 2020. Among them, 7,236 cases applied "sincere remorse" as a mitigating factor, accounting for 63.8% of the total. Image unrelated to specific expressions in the article. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] It has been revealed that cases where sex offenders received reduced sentences and probation on the grounds of showing remorse accounted for over 60%. This has raised calls for more cautious application by the courts.

According to Supreme Court data disclosed by Park Seong-jun, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, between 2016 and 2020, a total of 11,336 individuals were sentenced to probation in sex crime cases.

Among them, 7,236 cases applied "sincere remorse" as a mitigating factor, accounting for 63.8% of the total.

Probation sentences citing the victim's expressed wish not to punish, known as "non-punishment request," were also applied in 5,695 cases (50.2%).

The sentencing guideline factor of having no prior criminal record was applied to 3,737 individuals (33%). In particular, for rape cases involving victims aged 13 and older, the probation sentences applied non-punishment requests in 92.5% and sincere remorse in 75.8% of cases.

Park stated, "The proportion of cases applying 'sincere remorse' as a mitigating factor is relatively high," and pointed out, "The specific criteria for such judgments are ambiguous." He added, "There is a need to establish measures to enhance authenticity and objectivity."

Meanwhile, Park also revealed through data submitted by the Ministry of Justice that between 2016 and 2020, there were 361 cases of recidivism involving sex crimes among those under electronic monitoring.

Nevertheless, it was confirmed that the workload of staff at the Central Location Tracking Control Center has not decreased. It is known that one employee manages around 300 individuals wearing electronic anklets.

Accordingly, Park emphasized the need to expand individualized psychological treatment to address fundamental risk factors for recidivism and to prevent parole for high-risk sex offenders.

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