Debate Over Lowering Chokbeopsonyeon Age to 13: "Reflecting Public Sentiment" vs. "Questioning Effectiveness"

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Holds Public Forum on "Chokbeopsonyeon Age Debate"

The government has held a public forum to discuss a plan to lower the age of "juvenile criminal exemption" (chokbeop sonyeon) from the current under-14 to under-13. This is the first event held since the launch of the "Social Dialogue Council on Juvenile Criminal Exemption," organized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

On March 18, the forum titled "Current Status of the Juvenile Criminal Exemption System and Key Issues in Age Discussion," hosted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, featured diverse opinions on the age of criminal responsibility and the effectiveness of the juvenile criminal exemption system.

According to Korean criminal law, those under 14 years old are classified as minors and are not held criminally responsible even if they commit a crime. Among them, those aged 10 or older but under 14 are considered "juvenile criminal exemption" cases and are subject to protective measures under the Juvenile Act. However, approximately 70 years have passed since the enactment of the Criminal Act in 1953, and claims have been raised that the age standard for juvenile criminal exemption should be lowered to 13, citing changes in the mental maturity of minors, an increase in juvenile crime, and the increasingly violent nature of some offenses.

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

According to data from the National Court Administration, the number of court cases involving juvenile criminal exemption increased from 7,045 in 2015 to 21,477 in 2024, roughly tripling over the period.

Professor Kim Hyuk of the Department of Law at Pukyong National University, who delivered the main presentation, explained the effectiveness of lowering the age of criminal responsibility from both substantive and procedural legal perspectives.

From a substantive law perspective, he pointed out, "Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 essentially means allowing imprisonment or detention sentences for 13-year-olds." He continued, "In 2023, only about 8.8% of juvenile offenders (aged 14 or older but under 19) were brought to formal trial, with most cases concluded through conditional warnings or suspended indictments. Considering this, the proportion of actual prison sentences is likely less than 1%."

He added, "Even if the age of criminal responsibility is lowered, there will likely be very few actual prison sentences, so the revision may remain symbolic legislation." He also explained that even under the current Juvenile Act, 13-year-olds can be sent to juvenile detention centers for up to two years, making social protection through detention already sufficiently possible.

He also viewed the effects of lowering the age from a procedural law perspective as limited.

He said, "Lowering the age may expand some investigative tools, such as compulsory investigation, but for those aged 10 to 12, the same issues remain. Rather than simply lowering the age, revising the Juvenile Act to more clearly regulate investigation procedures for juvenile criminal exemption cases could be a more effective alternative."

In the subsequent panel discussion, opinions were divided over the need to lower the age.

Lee Seunghyun, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice, said, "It is true that in 2025, 13-year-olds accounted for 4,613 people, or 14.9% of all minors under protective measures. However, there are no statistics on what kind of measures were imposed on these juvenile criminal exemption cases. Therefore, it is difficult to judge whether these individuals received penalties severe enough to warrant discussion of criminal punishment."

He explained, "The proportion of serious crimes among juvenile criminal exemption cases is about 3.8 to 4.5%, which is not particularly high compared to general juvenile crime. About half of the crimes are theft, mostly simple thefts from unmanned stores or convenience stores." He also addressed the claim that the upper age limit for juvenile criminal exemption should be lowered because today's youth are more physically and mentally mature than in the past, stating, "Although their ability to acquire information has developed, their capacity for critical evaluation of right and wrong is still lacking. Additionally, peer influence, emotional regulation, and impulse control have not grown in proportion to physical development."

He continued, "Over 20 years of meeting juvenile offenders in the field, I found that they were children who had not received sufficient protection from their families due to domestic violence or child abuse, and were emotionally deprived. Before holding these children responsible for their crimes, our society must first reflect on whether we have provided environments that lead youth into delinquency, whether families and schools have fulfilled their roles as protectors, and whether correctional education for juvenile offenders has been adequate."

In contrast, Professor Jeong Irom of Busan University of Foreign Studies argued, "The legal system should reflect not only the instrumental purpose of crime prevention but also the normative consensus and sense of justice of the community. Even as a declarative or symbolic measure, lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 is necessary to meet the public's sense of justice."

However, he added the condition that "while the possibility of imposing criminal punishment should be kept open, stricter and more effective protective measures must be implemented to avoid simply adopting a punitive approach."

Moon Deokjoo, a school police officer at Ansan Sangnok Police Station, stated, "We can no longer turn a blind eye to offenders who boldly declare, 'I won't be punished because I am a juvenile criminal exemption case.' Thirteen-year-olds are already cognitively and physically mature enough to be held criminally responsible." He continued, "The juvenile criminal exemption system is being abused as a 'license to commit crimes,' fueling the brutality and sophistication of crimes. Over the past five years, crimes by juvenile criminal exemption cases have more than doubled, surpassing 20,000 annually, and sexual offenses in particular soared by 85% in 2025 compared to 2021, with the severity of crimes worsening drastically."

He emphasized, "The law must not become a shield for children that encourages crime, but rather should serve as a strict compass to guide their proper growth. Therefore, the lowering of the juvenile criminal exemption age must be achieved."

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