Calls mount to reform juvenile law as petty cases pile up

Children under 14 are automatically sent to court for minor misdeeds, prompting judges and legal experts to call for reform of Korea’s juvenile law. gettyimagesbank

When a 13-year-old girl stole a 3,100-won ($2) chocolate snack from a Seoul convenience store one night in April, police sent her case to the family court’s juvenile division.

In another case on June 25, four middle school boys aged 13 and 14 accidentally broke a swing at a playground in Sejong City. The two older boys, both 14, were let go with a warning, while the two 13-year-olds were sent to juvenile court.

Under Korea’s Juvenile Act, children aged 10 to 13 who are below the age of criminal responsibility cannot be criminally punished, but their cases must still be automatically referred to family court, regardless of how minor the offense is.

Judges and legal experts say the rule needs urgent reform, arguing it overburdens the courts and risks stigmatizing young children for trivial acts.

Surge in juvenile referrals despite stagnant number of judges

According to data released Wednesday by Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, police are required to refer all cases involving children aged 10 to 13 to the juvenile court. Even minor misbehavior, such as taking an unlocked bicycle, leads to a formal court referral.

While the number of juvenile judges nationwide has remained around 30 over the past six years, the number of cases referred to juvenile divisions has steadily risen — from 10,112 in 2020 to 21,139 last year, and 10,186 in just the first half of this year.

Nearly half of the 2023 cases — 45.9 percent — were dismissed without a hearing or ended without disposition due to their minor nature.

Though such cases do not leave minors with a criminal record, experts warn they can still face lasting social stigma for trivial mistakes.

Seo has proposed revising the Juvenile Act to replace the current “mandatory referral” system with “selective referral,” while institutionalizing police-led youth guidance programs as an alternative to court proceedings.

“It’s far too harsh to stigmatize children for a momentary mistake,” Seo said. “Serious crimes must be punished strictly, but for minor misbehavior, the law should prioritize education and rehabilitation over punishment.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.