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| Gettyimagesbank |
By Jung Min-ho
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday vowed to raise the age of consent to 16 from 13 in its fight against child sexual abuse.
The move comes a week after the Ministry of Justice said a 13-year-old is not mature enough to consent to sexual acts and that the age should be raised to 16.
At a high-level meeting at the National Assembly, the two sides agreed to cooperate to push for parliamentary passage of relevant bills before the end of May.
The age of consent is that at which a person is legally considered old enough and competent enough to consent to sexual activity. An adult who engages in sexual activity with a person under the age could be charged with child sexual abuse or rape.
Korea has long been criticized for keeping the legal benchmark too low. It is one of few major countries where adults can engage in sexual activity with 13-year-olds, as long as it is "consensual." In Finland and New Zealand, the benchmark is 16; in California, it is 18.
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