[Korean Culture & Language] Juvenile Justice

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Netflix released the series 소년심판(Juvenile Justice) on February 25, 2022, whichillustrates a story of a judge who is notorious for her dislike toward juveniles but is appointed to a juvenile court in the Yeonhwa District. She breaks the norm and imposes her own punishments on the offenders. She instills in criminal children a strong sense of justice and punishment. The drama also reflects how society is responsible for the actions of juveniles. 

In the drama, a 13-year-old boy, Baek Sung-woo, brutally murders an elementary kid then turns himself in. Under Korea’s 소년법(Juvenile Act), children aged 10 to 13 are considered ‘소년보호사건(protection cases)’ and are free from criminal punishment, and the maximum sentence that can be given to minors aged 14 to 18 is 15 years. The maximum punishment given to children aged 10 to 13 is two years in a 소년원(juvenile detention center).

(Because of this law that protects Korean teenagers, they are unafraid to break the law. This has become a big social problem.)

Judge Shim discovered the main conspirator by looking through Sung-woo’s phone records. Her boss warned her not to bring the matter up anymore for his personal gain. However, Shim caught the girl who plotted the crime and asked Sung-woo to commit it. The girl who planned the crime was sentenced to 20 years in jail since she was 15, and Sung-woo was sentenced to two years in 소년원(juvenile detention) at the end of the series.

source: netflix.com

소년심판(Juvenile Justice) is a TV series that tackles a major societal issue in Korea: the problems surrounding the 소년법(Juvenile Act).

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