Gangneung Attorney Office | Defending Against an Actual Sentence for a Client Facing a Charge of Raping a Minor

The client, who was enrolled at a university in Gangneung, first met the victim through a game.

The client and the victim grew close enough to exchange personal text messages, and even then the client believed the victim to be an adult of the same age as the client.

Having become close, the two arranged to meet in person, and it was only after the client met the victim directly at the meeting place that the client learned the victim was a minor.

Upon learning that the victim was a minor, the client tried to refrain from meeting the victim, but the two had grown close and ended up developing into a romantic relationship.

However, the victim's guardian learned of the relationship between the client and the victim through a mobile phone, and subsequently reported the client on a charge of statutory rape of a minor, leading to this case.

🔗The crime of statutory rape of a minor is an offense committed when a person aged 19 or older has sexual intercourse with or commits an indecent act against a minor under the age of 16, or when a person under the age of 19 has sexual intercourse with or commits an indecent act against a minor under the age of 13.

This means that if a person aged 16 or older has sexual intercourse with or commits an indecent act against a person under the age of 13, that person is punished regardless of consent, and that an adult who has sexual intercourse with or commits an indecent act against a person under the age of 16 is likewise punishable.

In Korea, the offense was previously committed only with respect to a person under the age of 13, but following the case involving the production and distribution of sexual exploitation material in the so-called Nth Room, the National Assembly passed a bill in 2020 raising the age threshold for statutory rape of a minor to under 16, and that amended statute was promulgated in May 2020.

-Sexual intercourse with a person under 13: imprisonment for a definite term of at least 3 years
-Imitative sexual intercourse with a person under 13: imprisonment for a definite term of at least 2 years
-Sexual intercourse by a person aged 19 or older with a person aged 13 or older but under 16: imprisonment for a definite term of at least 3 years
-Imitative sexual intercourse by a person aged 19 or older with a person aged 13 or older but under 16: imprisonment for a definite term of at least 2 years

The attorney at the Gangneung attorney office requested leniency, arguing that from the very first police investigation the client had acknowledged the wrongdoing, shown remorse, and given a truthful account of everything.

In addition, at the time the client and the victim met through a game and became close, the client believed the victim to be an adult.

The victim also acknowledged having introduced herself as an adult in the game.

The attorney argued that the client had not approached the victim, a minor, with intent.

The attorney argued that the conduct in this case occurred on only a single day and that it was an act carried out with the victim's consent.

The attorney argued that although the conduct was carried out with consent, the client had paid compensation for harm to the victim, who must have been hurt, and to the victim's parents.

The victim also accepted the client's apology and prepared a statement of no desire for punishment and a settlement agreement.

The attorney requested leniency, emphasizing that the victim too was seeking leniency for the client.