Gov't weighs lowering minimum age of criminal responsibility

Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung, left, reports her ministry's policy plan on lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility at the Cabinet meeting in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

The government is considering lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility by one year from the current 14 but the final decision will be made after additional opinion-gathering, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Tuesday.

Currently, children under the age of 14 cannot be held criminally responsible in Korea. If such children commit offenses, they are referred to community service programs or youth correction institutions.

But there have long been calls to lower the age threshold in response to a rise in crimes committed by young teenagers. In February, President Lee Jae Myung instructed the government to gather public opinions on the issue.

In a report to the Cabinet, the ministry said it may revise the age range of criminal minority from the current "10 years old or older and under 14 years old" to "10 years old or older and under 13 years old" in cases of violent, serious or repetitive crimes.

The ministry presented the results of various public opinion polls to support proposed changes to the current law.

In a poll of 199 adults and 43 youths, support for uniformly lowering the criminal age limit was the most common response, at 78 percent and 67 percent, respectively, the ministry said.

In a separate survey of 212 citizens who participated in the public deliberation process, support for conditionally lowering the age threshold came to 46.7 percent, up 0.9 percentage point from before the deliberations began, according to the ministry.

Support for uniformly lowering the age limit fell from 37.3 percent to 30.2 percent, while support for maintaining the current age threshold increased from 5.7 percent to 17 percent, it added.

When asked how much the age limit should be lowered, the largest share of respondents, 55.8 percent, favored lowering it by one year.

Under the current law, the most severe measure that can be imposed on a juvenile offender under the age of 14 is detention at a youth correction institution for up to two years. By contrast, juveniles aged 14 or older but under 19 who are convicted of a crime face a maximum statutory sentence of 15 years in prison.

The ministry also proposed establishing a new government-wide response system to prevent juvenile delinquency and address juvenile crimes.