Lee Jae-myung Announces 'Eradication of Gender Violence' Policy Pledge: "Enact Date Violence Punishment Act... Abolish Non-Prosecution by Victim's Consent"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced four major policy pledges to eradicate gender violence on the 5th, including strengthening punishments for dating violence and stalking.

Jeong Chun-sook, head of the Women’s Committee of the campaign headquarters, announced the pledges at the Yeouido party office that morning, saying, “Protecting the safety and lives of the people is the greatest responsibility of the state, but in reality, we are even ashamed to ask about the well-being of the people.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong mentioned a series of cases such as murders caused by stalking and dating violence, sexual violence in the military, and the discovery of hidden cameras in elementary schools, stating, “Even public authority failed to protect the victims. We deeply reflect on the inadequate response to gender violence and the failure to properly protect the victims.”

The campaign headquarters presented the following pledges: ▲strengthening punishment of perpetrators and protection of victims of dating violence, stalking, and sexual violence ▲zero tolerance and strict punishment for sexual crimes against children and adolescents ▲eradication of digital sex crimes and alleviation of related anxieties ▲elimination of recurring sexual violence practices in the military.

Specific measures include ▲enactment of the Hwang Ye-jin Act (Dating Violence Punishment Act) ▲abolition of the semi-indictable offense status for stalking crimes ▲expansion of crime types under the Stalking Crime Punishment Act to comprehensively cover online stalking ▲introduction of victim protection order system for stalking crime victims ▲promotion of the enactment of the Stalking Victim Protection Act ▲development and commercialization of IT technology to detect perpetrator approaches in stalking and dating violence cases ▲strengthening information protection during investigation and trial processes for sexual violence victims.

The pledge to enact the Dating Violence Punishment Act was reportedly influenced by the heartfelt appeal of the bereaved family of the late Hwang Ye-jin, who died from dating violence last summer. The family met with candidate Lee in November and urged him to “work hard so that our daughter’s name will not be in vain.”

Other pledges include ▲raising the age limit and extending the statute of limitations for sexual violence against children and adolescents by relatives ▲introduction of an ‘independent confiscation system’ to recover criminal proceeds from digital sex crimes ▲establishment of dedicated sexual violence response organizations directly under the Minister of National Defense and each branch chief of staff.

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