Middle school students who damaged merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of won at an unmanned stationery store in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, have been booked by police. The affected store owner claimed that the students' parents refused to reach a settlement, saying in effect, "They are juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility, so do whatever you want," fueling growing controversy.
According to police on Thursday, the Pohang Bukbu Police Station recently booked three middle school students on charges of property damage for destroying merchandise at an unmanned stationery store in Yangdeok-dong, Buk-gu, Pohang. They are suspected of opening and using toys and other items in the store without paying, causing about 300,000 won in damages.
Police plan to decide whether to refer the students to the juvenile division after investigating the exact circumstances of the case.
◇ "Items Opened and Damaged"... Unmanned Stationery Store CCTV Released = The case came to light after a person presumed to be the affected store owner disclosed the damage on social media.
In the post, the owner described it as "an unmanned stationery store raid that occurred in Pohang" and claimed, "They came into the store and tore open all sorts of items they had no intention of buying."
The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage released alongside the post showed several students walking around inside the unmanned stationery store, touching and opening merchandise.
The owner claimed the students left the store after damaging the items and also released photos showing the extent of the damage.
The controversy grew further over the parents' response. The owner claimed the parents refused to reach a settlement, saying, "The kids were caught by police, but the parents said something like, 'They're juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility, so do whatever you want.'" However, the parents' position has not yet been confirmed.
Juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility (chokbeop sonyeon) refers to those aged 10 or older but under 14 at the time of the offense. Instead of criminal punishment, they receive protective measures under the Juvenile Act, but this does not exempt them from civil liability for damages, such as for property destruction.
◇ Debate Over Lowering Age of Criminal Responsibility Reignited = As crimes by juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility have repeatedly sparked controversy, debate over the age threshold has continued.
A social dialogue council on the age of criminal responsibility passed a recommendation at its final plenary meeting on April 30 to maintain the current standard of "under 14 years of age." However, the recommendation has not yet been reported to the State Council.
Won Min-kyung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, recently explained at the National Assembly, "There are too many agenda items, so it has been pushed back by items being processed first and has not yet been reported (to the State Council)."
However, public opinion appears to lean toward lowering the age. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea in March of 1,002 adults nationwide, 81% of respondents said the upper age limit for juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered.
Among those who favored lowering the age, the largest share, 39%, said it should be lowered to "under 12 years of age." This was followed by "under 13 years of age" (28%), "under 10 years of age" (20%), and "under 11 years of age" (11%).
