Number of juvenile felons highest ever

The number of juvenile offenders has risen by 54.7 percent over the past four years, with the most notable increases occurring in felony offenses such as murder, robbery, arson and sex crimes.

According to a document submitted by the Justice Ministry to an opposition lawmaker yesterday, the number of juvenile delinquents increased from 86,014 in 2005 to 92,643 in 2006, then 116,135 in 2007 and 133,072 last year.

The ministry expects this year`s figure to rise further, as the number of juvenile criminals was already 68,313 at the end of June.

Minor offenses such as theft and assault increased by 33.9 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, in the January-June period of this year.

Those increases, however, were dwarfed by those in felony offenses such as murder, robbery and arson, which hit a record high during the same period.



The number of teenage felons has continuously risen from 906 in 2005 to 1,055 in 2006, then to 1,403 in 2007 and 1,522 last year, according to the data. In the first half of this year, 1,006 had already been convicted on such charges, showing a 68 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

Most dramatic was the increase in the number of sex offenders aged 6-18, which has risen by 113.1 percent from 1,101 in 2005 to 2,346 last year, showed separate data submitted yesterday by the National Police Agency and the Education Ministry to the National Assembly.

The figure in January-June this year was 72.1 percent higher than that of the same period last year.

"Many teenagers have become morally numb to the grave consequences of their actions," said an official at the Korean Juvenile Crime Prevention Association.

Furthermore, the average age of criminals is dropping.

From 2005 until this February, a total of 7,942 teenagers were convicted of sexual offenses, with 60 percent of them in the mid-teen age group of 15-17, according to the document.

Middle school-aged students are increasingly becoming involved in sex crimes - mostly against their own peers or juniors, according to experts.

"Young students are not yet fully equipped with a proper moral sense, but are so often given premature information on violence and sex," said the KJCPA official.

Drug-related crimes were no exception to the general crime trend.

The number of juvenile drug offenders almost doubled in the 2007-2008 period, from 237 to 439. A total of 240 teenagers were convicted of such offenses in January-June this year.

(tellme@heraldm.com

By Bae Hyun-jung