South Korea votes for tougher sex-crimes law
Source: Agencies |
October 29, 2011, Saturday
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IN a near unanimous vote, South Korea's parliament approved a tougher law against sex crimes yesterday, inspired in part by a recent movie based on a real-life case of sexually abused deaf children.
"The Crucible," a box-office hit since its release last month, fueled long-running criticism that the legal system is too soft on sex offenders. The legislation is South Korea's latest attempt to address that. The bill eliminates the statute of limitations for sex crimes against children under 13 and disabled women and increases the maximum penalty to life in prison. Current law says the term must be less than life.
President Lee Myung-bak is expected to sign the bill into effect within a couple of weeks. Endorsed by both the ruling and opposition parties, the legislation passed by a 207-0 vote. One lawmaker abstained.
Representative Park Jun-sun, from the ruling Grand National Party, said the bill sends a message to sex offenders that they will be tracked down "to the very end."
The broad support shows how angry people have become toward child sex offenders, especially after the release of "The Crucible," said Representative Lee Choon-suak from the opposition Democratic Party.
The movie has drawn 4.5 million viewers, almost one-tenth of South Korea's population, according to the state-funded Korean Film Council. The viewers included President Lee and high-ranking judges and prosecutors, many of whom have vowed tough preventive measures.
A series of widely publicized sex crimes against children in recent years - including the rape of an 8-year-old girl on her way to school in 2008 - has sparked criticism of the country's laws.
Last year, South Korea scrapped a law that barred the prosecution of a child sex offender unless the victim made the complaint himself or herself. The country has also legalized chemical castration and the collection of DNA samples from sex criminals.
"The Crucible," a box-office hit since its release last month, fueled long-running criticism that the legal system is too soft on sex offenders. The legislation is South Korea's latest attempt to address that. The bill eliminates the statute of limitations for sex crimes against children under 13 and disabled women and increases the maximum penalty to life in prison. Current law says the term must be less than life.
President Lee Myung-bak is expected to sign the bill into effect within a couple of weeks. Endorsed by both the ruling and opposition parties, the legislation passed by a 207-0 vote. One lawmaker abstained.
Representative Park Jun-sun, from the ruling Grand National Party, said the bill sends a message to sex offenders that they will be tracked down "to the very end."
The broad support shows how angry people have become toward child sex offenders, especially after the release of "The Crucible," said Representative Lee Choon-suak from the opposition Democratic Party.
The movie has drawn 4.5 million viewers, almost one-tenth of South Korea's population, according to the state-funded Korean Film Council. The viewers included President Lee and high-ranking judges and prosecutors, many of whom have vowed tough preventive measures.
A series of widely publicized sex crimes against children in recent years - including the rape of an 8-year-old girl on her way to school in 2008 - has sparked criticism of the country's laws.
Last year, South Korea scrapped a law that barred the prosecution of a child sex offender unless the victim made the complaint himself or herself. The country has also legalized chemical castration and the collection of DNA samples from sex criminals.
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