Law revision to punish off-line grooming of minors to be reviewed by parliament
The law revision that will allow punishment of both online and off-line grooming of minors is expected to be reviewed in the National Assembly's plenary session this week, government officials said Wednesday.
The revision of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse centers on punishing the act of building a relationship with a minor with the intent of sexual exploitation, regardless of where such action takes place. It is one of the agenda items for the parliament's plenary sessions slated for Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
South Korea in 2021 revised the law to provide legal grounds for punishment of grooming of minors, but the current clause only stipulates such actions that occur via IT network. This oversight left a legal loophole that could potentially be exploited by those committing such crimes offline.
A Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice report analyzed 108 legal cases related to sexual crimes committed on adolescents, 54 of which were related to grooming and 42 of which happened online. This suggests a significant portion of sex crimes directed at minors is related to grooming.
A National Police Agency data in 2023 showed that of the 7,200 cases of sex crimes against minors in 2022, 1,500 could be considered a form of grooming.
Rep. Kim Sang-wook of the ruling People Power Party, who proposed the revision to punish offline grooming of minors, revealed that cases related to sexual intercourse with minors surged from 69 in 2018 to 637 in 2023, citing NPA data submitted to him.
The latest revision was passed by the parliament's Gender Equality and Family Committee on March 6, along with measures for stricter punishment of sex offenders. It is widely expected to be passed by the National Assembly, as neither the ruling or the opposition parties have spoken out against it.
Those who lure minors for the purpose of sexual exploitation could be punished by up to three years in prison, and the authorities are allowed to conduct undercover investigations to catch the perpetrators.
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