Within the eloquent but troubling phrases from Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”: “Lolita, gentle of my life, fireplace of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a visit of three steps down the palate to faucet, at three, on the tooth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”
Whereas one may entertain fantasies, it’s crucial to grasp that actualizing such notions in Korea wouldn’t solely be morally reprehensible however legally unacceptable. Korea upholds the tranquility and security of its minors by means of strict statutory rape (의제강간) legal guidelines, safeguarding them from any type of sexual exploitation.
Statutory Rape in South Korean Legislation
The notion of statutory rape is a authorized instrument designed to guard the sexual autonomy of minors. It posits that, no matter any purported consent, sexual relations with people beneath the age of consent are deemed non-consensual and thus, prosecutable. The pertinent legal guidelines below the Korean Prison Act are as follows:
Prison Act, Article 305 (Sexual Intercourse or Indecent Acts with Minor):
① An individual partaking in sexual activity or committing an indecent act with a person below 13 years of age shall face repercussions as stipulated below Articles 297, 297-2, 298, 301, or 301-2.
② A person over nineteen partaking in sexual activity or committing an indecent act with an individual aged between 13 and sixteen shall additionally face authorized penalties below the Articles 297, 297-2, 298, 301, or 301-2.
every articles talked about within the above article, Article 207 is about rape (강간), Article 297-2 is about imitative rape (유사강간), Article 298 is about indecent act by compulsion (강제추행), Article 301 is about inflicting or inflicting one other’s bodily damage by rape (강간상해, 치상), Article 301-2 is about killing one other or inflicting demise of one other by rape (강간살해, 치사). In different phrases, if the sufferer is a minor, the perpetrator will probably be punished in the identical method as every of the above crimes, even when the sufferer consented to the sexual relations.
Age-specific Authorized Penalties
The authorized penalties of the perpetrator relies upon upon the ages of each the sufferer and the perpetrator:
Victims below the age of 12: Whatever the perpetrator’s age, perpetrators will probably be topic to statutory rape expenses.
Victims aged 13 to fifteen: Perpetrators below the age of 18 are exempt from expenses, however these aged 19 and above are prosecutable.
c. Victims aged 16 and above: As soon as the sufferer is over 16, there will probably be no expenses of statutory rape primarily based solely on age, although different legal expenses could apply relying on the circumstances, comparable to rape or sexual assault below duress.
Civil Liabilities and Different Repercussions:
Even within the absence of legal conviction, one should still be held accountable below civil regulation for wrongful conduct, together with sexual exploitation of a minor. As an example, a case involving a stationery retailer proprietor who initiated a sexual relationship with a feminine center faculty pupil below the guise of gifting stationery was not criminally prosecutable however was deemed sexual exploitation, infringing upon the minor’s proper to sexual autonomy, thus resulting in a court-mandated compensation to each the sufferer and her dad and mom.
If you want to achieve extra in depth data about sexual crimes towards minors, please check with the next article.
