'Punishment for Just Threatening Murder'... Ministry of Justice Pushes for Legal Amendment

The Ministry of Justice is creating new punishment regulations to respond to the recently occurring crimes of 'online murder threats.'

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th, the Ministry of Justice announced, "We are promoting legal amendments related to punishment regulations for public threats such as murder threat posts." They added, "Despite the frequent occurrence of murder threat crimes targeting the public through social networking services (SNS) and the growing anxiety among the public, there are concerns about a 'punishment gap' due to insufficient direct punishment regulations."

Currently, prosecutors and police apply charges such as threats, obstruction of official duties by deception, and murder preparation to crack down on acts of posting murder threat messages online. However, these existing provisions have been criticized for legal shortcomings because their applicability may vary depending on whether the victim is specifically identified and whether the actual crime plan is executed.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Justice has decided to promote legal amendments that define the act of posting murder threat messages itself as a crime. "Accepting the recommendation of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we plan to establish criminal punishment provisions in related laws by referring to legislative examples from countries such as the United States and Germany that punish public threats," they explained. "We will enable punishment for openly posting words that cause fear for the life and body of the public, such as murder threats to an unspecified number of people."

They also added, "We will prepare legal grounds to punish the possession of weapons that can be used for crimes such as murder or injury in public places like public transportation or crowded public spaces without justifiable reasons."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that as of today, six people nationwide have been arrested on charges of threatening an unspecified number of people by posting 'murder threat' messages online. The office stated, "Posting murder threat messages online cannot be dismissed as a mere 'joke'; it amplifies public anxiety and prevents police and public security administration resources from being used where they are needed in a timely manner," and declared a strong stance on responding to these crimes.

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