The South Korean government is restructuring and elevating its agency dedicated to reducing the recidivism rate among juvenile offenders, which is higher than that of adults.
On June 9, the Justice Ministry, led by Minister Jeong Seong-ho, announced a new strategy aimed at decreasing recidivism rates among juvenile offenders, including those under protective supervision.
The ministry plans to establish a new decision-making body focused on juvenile crime prevention, replacing the temporary Juvenile Crime Prevention Team currently in operation. Additionally, the department responsible for practical implementation will be upgraded to a headquarters-level organization.
To eliminate negative effects such as criminal learning that arise from the existing adult-centered probation system, improvements will be made to on-site treatment. The pilot program for the so-called Integrated Juvenile Justice Agency, currently running in Seoul, Gwangju, and Ansan, separates adults and juveniles to provide treatment tailored to the characteristics of youth through community multi-agency collaboration. Based on the results of this pilot, the program is set to expand nationwide next year.
To fundamentally address juvenile offenses, which are influenced by personal factors such as mental illness and family environment, as well as social and environmental factors, the Justice Ministry will implement a customized recidivism prevention process known as the K-Youth Crime Prevention Policy. This will include diagnosis, intervention, rehabilitation, and aftercare, with a focus on closely managing chronically delinquent youth through community multi-agency cooperation.
Recognizing that delinquent behavior often occurs at night, the ministry is developing a supervisory device in the form of a smartwatch to limit nighttime outings for juveniles. Long-term plans also include the development of a comprehensive analysis system for juvenile crime that utilizes AI-based data analysis to assess risk levels and suggest intervention measures.
According to the Justice Ministry, the number of juvenile offenders under probation increased from 703 (5.2%) out of 13,489 in 2020 to 1,535 (10.6%) out of 14,474 in 2024. Similarly, the proportion of juvenile offenders in correctional facilities rose from 51 (3.1%) out of 1,637 in 2020 to 148 (6.1%) out of 2,430 in 2024.
As of last year, the recidivism rate for juveniles on probation was 12.3%, nearly three times higher than the 3.9% rate for adults.
Minister Jeong Seong-ho stated, "There has been a lack of infrastructure for policy implementation compared to the attention given to juvenile crime. We will establish a professional system capable of effectively preventing juvenile crime and implement the K-Youth Crime Prevention Policy to address the complex factors behind youth offending."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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