Gov’t to lower criminal age limit by 1 year to 13

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) — The age of criminal responsibility will be lowered by one year from the current 14, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday, announcing measures to cope with an increasing number of serious crimes committed by juveniles.

The ministry said it will revise the criminal and juvenile laws to lower the criminal age limit to be able to charge youths criminally from the age of 13.

Currently, minors under the age of 14 cannot be convicted of a crime in South Korea. If such children commit offenses, they are referred to community service programs or youth correction institutions.

Under the soon-to-be revised laws, 13-year-old middle school first or second grade students, for instance, will be subject to criminal punishment if they commit a crime.

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon (R) visits a juvenile correctional facility in Anyang, south of Seoul, on June 22, 2022, in this file photo provided by his ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)hide caption

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon ordered the launch of a study on the readjustment of the minimum age of criminal liability in June in line with an earlier campaign pledge by President Yoon Suk-yeol to lower the criminal age limit by two years to 12.

Yoon issued the pledge amid growing calls for stern measures to deal with ever-increasing serious youth crimes.

But the government will consider prohibiting criminal inquiry for crimes committed at the age of 13 in order to minimize possible disadvantages in education and employment for those concerned, the ministry said.

The government will also take additional measures to reduce recidivism among juvenile offenders by thoroughly separating them from adult offenders in prison, strengthening their correctional and educational programs and increasing support for employment after release from prison, it added.