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Controversy has reignited over the laws governing juvenile offenses following a recent incident where a stone thrown by an elementary school student killed an elderly man and the child did not receive any punishment because of his age.
According to Nowon Police Station in Seoul, a man in his 70s died after being struck by a stone dropped by an eight-year-old from an apartment complex in Wolgye-dong around 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 17. The victim was walking up some stairs at the front of the building's entrance with his wife when the incident happened.
As the police continue to investigate, the victim's family has expressed shock and frustration.
"He didn't have any underlying disease. It was shocking to learn that he was killed by a falling stone," a family member of the victim was quoted as saying. "I don't know whom to blame. The boy? The parents?"
The family member lamented that the boy's family had not approached them to apologize.
According to the Juvenile Act, offenders aged from 10 to 14 years of age are not subject to criminal punishment. Instead, they are put on probation and enrolled in educational programs or sent to juvenile detention centers. But those younger than 10 are not subject to any such programs, although their parents may face civil suits for compensation.
The recent incident isn't the only case prompting discussion about whether the current laws are adequate.
In 2015, a nine-year-old boy dropped a 1.83 kilogram cement brick from the top of an 18-storey apartment building in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, killing a woman in her 50s and injuring another woman who were building a makeshift shelter for stray cats at the ground level. The boy went unpunished.
Some experts argue it is time to revise the law.
"The current juvenile law stipulates a mandatory provision that 'punishment cannot be done' based on age. It is important to introduce a plan that would allow punishment regardless of age for serious crimes, such as murder," Lee Yun-ho, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, told a local newspaper.
Lee Woong-hyuk, a professor of police science at Konkuk University, said, “It has been 70 years since the Juvenile Act was enacted, but the children of the past and the children of today are different ... There is a need to lower the age limit to reflect changes in the times.”
Opponents, however, contend that lowering the age would not be a solution. Won Hye-wook, a professor at Inha University Law School, said, “If we focus only on punishing offenders, it will divert attention from the social environment that may have caused the crimes. We must first assess shortcomings in social and environmental aspects.”
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