A recent incident involving an 11-year-old elementary school student who attacked a person with a weapon after being reprimanded has garnered attention. The incident took place on June 1 near Sillim Station in Seoul, involving a conflict between a 74-year-old security guard and the student, identified as A. The guard had advised A and his friends to play away from the apartment entrance, where vehicles pass. In response, A verbally insulted the guard.
A 42-year-old passerby, identified as Oh, witnessed the altercation and scolded the child for being disrespectful to an adult. In retaliation, A threatened Oh and then stabbed him in the abdomen with a knife. Fortunately, Oh did not suffer serious injuries.
After the incident, local residents reported the case to the police. A also faced accusations of being assaulted by Oh’s friends and filed a complaint against the security guard for child abuse. The police conducted further investigations using CCTV footage from the apartment complex and eventually dismissed the charges against Oh.
The police forwarded A to the Seoul Family Court as a juvenile offender, but due to Korean juvenile law, A is not subject to criminal punishment since he is under 14 years of age. The rise in juvenile offenses has been noted, with over 65,987 juveniles being sent to prosecution between 2019 and 2023. Despite engaging in serious crimes, juvenile offenders are subjected to protective measures rather than criminal penalties under current laws.
There have been ongoing discussions in political circles about the need to lower the age of criminal responsibility from the current minimum of 14 to potentially 12 or 13. However, such legislative changes have yet to pass in the National Assembly.