Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae, "8,474 Juvenile Offenders Committing Violent Crimes"

35,000 Juvenile Offenders Committing Violent Crimes in the Past 5 Years... 9 Murder Cases

62.7% of Violent Crimes by Juvenile Offenders Are Age 13... 6 of 9 Murderers Are Age 13

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] It has been revealed that violent crimes committed by juvenile offenders exempt from criminal punishment under the Criminal Act (juveniles aged 10 to under 14) are rapidly increasing.

In particular, it was analyzed that the proportion of violent crimes committed by 13-year-old juvenile offenders among juvenile offenders exempt from punishment is very high.

According to the "Recent 5-Year Status of Juvenile Offenders Exempt from Punishment Sent to Juvenile Courts" data submitted by the National Police Agency to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeosu-si Eul, Jeollanam-do), from 2017 to 2021, 35,390 juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who committed violent crimes such as murder, robbery, rape/sexual assault, arson, and theft were sent to juvenile courts.

Under the current Criminal Act, the age of criminal minority is defined as under 14 years old. Therefore, juvenile offenders exempt from punishment are not subject to punishment even if they commit violent crimes such as murder or rape.

This is why there are calls for lowering the age of criminal minority in response to the increasingly brutal and ferocious violent crimes committed by juvenile offenders exempt from punishment.

The number of juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who committed violent crimes is on a sharp rise.

The number of juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who committed violent crimes slightly decreased from 6,286 in 2017 to 6,014 in 2018, but then increased to 7,081 in 2019, 7,535 in 2020, and 8,474 in 2021.

The age group with the highest proportion among juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who committed violent crimes was 13 years old.

In the case of 13-year-old juveniles, 22,202 committed violent crimes over the past five years. This accounts for 62.7% of all juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who committed violent crimes.

Among others, 12-year-olds numbered 7,388, 11-year-olds 3,387, and 10-year-olds 2,413, showing a decrease in violent offenders as age decreases.

By crime type, theft was the most common with 22,993 cases, followed by violence with 10,199 cases.

Among violent crimes, the more heinous crimes of rape/sexual assault numbered 1,913, robbery 47, and murder 9.

In particular, among these, 13-year-olds accounted for 6 out of 9 murder cases (66.7%) and 43 out of 47 robbery cases (91.5%).

On the other hand, for 10-year-olds, there were zero murder or robbery cases in the past five years; for 11-year-olds, 1 murder and 0 robbery; and for 12-year-olds, 2 murders and 4 robberies, all fewer than those of 13-year-olds.

Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae said, "Recently, crimes committed by juvenile offenders exempt from punishment have become more brutal and ferocious," adding, "The age of criminal minority should be lowered, and even juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who are difficult to reform with protective measures alone should be exceptionally subject to criminal punishment."

The current age standard for criminal minority is under 14 years old, which has remained unchanged since the enactment of the Criminal Act in 1953.

Accordingly, Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae is preparing to propose a bill to adjust the age of criminal minority to 13 years old and to allow exceptional criminal punishment for juvenile offenders exempt from punishment who have been sent to juvenile detention centers three or more times for crimes and for whom reform through protective measures alone is difficult.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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