Age of Criminal Responsibility for Law-Breaching Juveniles Under Review for Reduction to Under 13 in Serious and Violent Cases

[Financial News] The government is pushing to lower the age of criminal responsibility from under 14 to under 13, but only for law-breaching juveniles who commit violent, serious or repeated crimes. Rather than applying a blanket age reduction, it plans to overhaul the system by also strengthening protective measures and recidivism prevention.
At a State Council of South Korea meeting on the 14th, Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Min-kyung reported the results of the social discussion on the age of criminal minors and the direction for institutional reform.
A law-breaching juvenile refers to a minor between the ages of 10 and under 14 who is not held criminally responsible even if they commit an offense under the Criminal Act. The age threshold for criminal responsibility has remained largely unchanged since the Criminal Act was enacted in 1953. In recent years, however, calls for reform have grown amid concerns over an increase in juvenile crimes and their growing brutality. President Lee Jae Myung also raised the issue and instructed officials to reach a conclusion through public discussion.
In response, the government conducted a social consultation process on adjusting the age threshold, operating a working group with relevant ministries and experts from March to April this year and holding deliberative discussions with 212 citizen participants.
In the citizen panel's deliberation, the most common view, at 46.7 percent, was that the age should be lowered only for violent, serious or repeated crimes. This was followed by 30.2 percent for a blanket reduction for all crimes and 17.0 percent for keeping the current standard. Among those favoring a lower age, the most common opinion, at 55.8 percent, was to reduce the current under-14 threshold by one year to under 13.
The working group concluded that any adjustment to the age threshold should be considered carefully, taking into account the effects of a lower age, statistical evidence, the developmental characteristics of juveniles, international standards and the capacity of protection and rehabilitation infrastructure. It also recommended parallel improvements to the judicial and protection systems to prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce recidivism.
Based on the citizen panel's findings and the working group's recommendations, the government plans to review lowering the age of law-breaching juveniles to under 13 only for violent, serious or repeated crimes, while also pursuing revisions to related laws such as the Criminal Act and the Juvenile Act. It will also move ahead with broader reforms, including improvements to the all-case referral system for law-breaching juveniles, new police investigation guidelines, a victim recovery system, family therapy orders, expanded protection facilities and specialized juvenile court personnel, and stronger victim rights.
The government is also considering establishing a Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Policy Committee in the second half of the year with participation from relevant ministries, and it plans to draw up detailed implementation measures for follow-up tasks in the protection, correction and prevention sectors.
[email protected] Kim Chan-mi Reporter