74% of Juvenile Offenders Lead Crimes... "Possible Use of Accomplices as Shields"

Analysis of 103 Verdicts on Theft Cases Involving Juvenile Offenders
"Higher Damage Amounts Than General Theft Cases"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As the Ministry of Justice has decided to lower the upper age limit for criminally responsible juveniles to 13 years old, a survey revealed that three out of four juvenile thieves lead the crimes within their groups. The amount of damage caused in cases involving these juveniles was also above average.

According to a study titled "A Study on the Patterns and Implications of Juvenile Participation in Theft Crimes" by Assistant Professor Lee Jang-wook of the Department of Police Science at Ulsan University, which analyzed 103 first-instance verdicts of theft cases involving criminally responsible juveniles from 2017 to last year, juveniles played a leading role in 73.8% (76 cases) of the crimes. This indicates that juveniles more often directly committed crimes such as breaking and entering or extortion rather than merely assisting as lookouts. The success rate of crimes led by juveniles was 85.5%, higher than the 81.4% success rate of cases where juveniles played a supporting role.

Regarding this, Professor Lee said, "The fact that juveniles often take a leading role in crimes and have a relatively high success rate means their criminal execution ability is equal to or greater than that of their accomplices." However, he also noted, "The overwhelming number of cases where juveniles take the forefront suggests an intention to exploit the fact that they are not subject to criminal punishment." There is a suggestion that accomplices aged 14 or older may have used juveniles as a sort of 'shield.'

The amount of damage in theft cases involving juveniles also exceeded the average for typical theft cases. The largest damage amount was between 100,000 and 1,000,000 KRW (30 cases, 29.1%), followed by ▲ over 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 KRW (24 cases, 23.3%) ▲ over 10,000 to 100,000 KRW (8 cases, 7.8%) ▲ 10,000 KRW or less (7 cases, 6.8%). Cases with damage exceeding 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 KRW were also recorded at 5 cases (4.8%). Among general theft cases occurring between 2019 and 2020, those with damage exceeding 1,000,000 KRW accounted for just over 10%.

By type, the most common was "burglary" (55 cases, 53.4%), where thieves take advantage of lax surveillance to search places where valuables are stored. Next were ▲ theft of transportation means such as cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, totaling 30 cases (29.1%) ▲ and shoplifting, where items are secretly taken from stores, at 11 cases (10.7%).

The charges filed were mostly 'special theft' under the Criminal Act, involving two or more people stealing together, accounting for 95.2% (98 cases). The ages of accomplices were ▲ 14 to under 19 years old 'juveniles' in 70 cases (68.0%) ▲ adults aged 19 or older in 30 cases (29.1%) ▲ and cases involving both adults and juveniles in 3 cases (2.9%).

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