Educational Statistics

 

Current Status and Trends in Juvenile Crimes

Committed by Children Below the Age of Criminal

Responsibility: Evidence from Data

 

 

 

Author: Kim, Hyojung (Research Fellow, KEDI)

 

 

 

Article 9 of the ‘Criminal Act’ currently defines children under the age of 14 as persons below the age of criminal responsibility, meaning that acts committed by individuals under the age of 14 are not subject to criminal punishment. Under the current ‘Juvenile Act,’ however, juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility refer to children aged 10 to under 14 who commit acts in violation of criminal laws and are therefore subject to protective dispositions rather than criminal punishment. By contrast, the concept of a person below the age of criminal responsibility is based on the premise that children lack criminal responsibility at the time of the offense and therefore should not be punished, the concept of juvenile below the age of criminal responsibility emphasizes the potential for rehabilitation and reformation (Lee, Seung-hyun, 2026). Nevertheless, despite this legal framework, changes in the legal and social environment have led to continued public debate in recent years regarding whether the upper age limit for juvenile below the age of criminal responsibility should be adjusted. Against this backdrop, this article examines the current status of and recent trends in juvenile crime, including offenses committed by juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility, based on relevant statistical data.

 

 

■ Trends in Crimes Committed by Juveniles Below the Age of Criminal Responsibility

 

Under Articles 2 and 4 of the ‘Juvenile Act,’ juvenile offenders are classified into criminal juveniles, juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility, and status offenders. Status offenders are juveniles aged 10 to 18 who engage in behaviors such as running away from home, unauthorized school absence, drinking alcohol, or causing public disturbances and are therefore subject to protective dispositions. Juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility are children aged 10 to 13 who commit acts in violation of criminal laws and are likewise subject to protective dispositions rather than criminal punishment. Criminal juveniles are those aged 14 to 18 who commit criminal offenses and may receive either criminal sanctions (up to a fine) or protective disposition (Kim, Min-i & Kim, Hyun-ah, 2023; Park, Sun-young, 2026). The following presents trends in juvenile crime over the past decade, including offenses committed by juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility.

 

 

As shown in [Figure 1], the population aged 10-18 has continued to decline, whereas the number of juvenile offenses has generally increased. In particular, although the numbers of status offenders and criminal juvenile cases have fluctuated from year to year while showing an overall upward trend, the number of offenses committed by juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility has increased continuously. Compared with 2016, the number of such offenses had increased by approximately 221.5% by 2025.1)

 

[Figure 2] shows changes in the age distribution of juveniles who received protective dispositions following the receipt of juvenile cases. Although juveniles aged 14-18, who fall within the category of criminal juveniles, consistently accounted for a much larger proportion than juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility aged 10-13, the share of the younger age group increased steadily over the past decade.

 

More specifically, compared with 2015, the proportion of juveniles aged 15-18 declined by 1.7%p to 6.3%p by 2024, whereas the proportions of those aged 12, 13, and 14 increased by 3.7%p, 6.4%p, and 5.3%p, respectively. These findings indicate a marked increase in the proportion of younger juveniles among those receiving protective dispositions.

 

 

                                                                                                             

1) The increase rate was calculated using the formula [(number of cases in 2025 – number of cases in 2016) / number of cases in 2016 x 100]. Applying the same formula, the increase rates were 195.6% for status offenders, 5.1% for criminal juveniles, and 52.2% for overall juvenile crime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

■ Types and Evolving Patterns of Juvenile Crimes

 

To better understand the characteristics of juvenile crime, the following presents the distribution of juvenile protection cases by major offense category. As shown in the table below, theft accounted for the largest share of offenses under the Criminal Act in 2024, representing approximately 51.4% of all criminal offenses, followed by fraud (11.4%) and assault (10.6%). In addition, serious offenses such as indecent assault (352 cases), robbery (100 cases), and rape (66 cases) were also recorded. Although the total number of processed juvenile protection cases declined somewhat in 2021, it increased sharply in 2023 and has generally continued to rise.

 

 

 

Juvenile protection cases are subject to one of ten categories of protective dispositions (Types 1-10), depending on the outcome of the proceedings.2) Trends in recidivism can be examined below through statistics on probation, one type of protective disposition.

 

 

 

                                                                                                            

2) Protective dispositions include Type 1 (entrustment to the custody of a guardian), Type 2 (attendance order), Type 3 (community service order), Type 4 (short-term probation), Type 5 (long-term probation), Type 6 (placement in a child welfare facility or juvenile protection facility), Type 7 (placement in a hospital or medical treatment facility), Type 8 (commitment to a juvenile reformatory for up to one month), Type 9 (short-term commitment to a juvenile reformatory), and Type 10 (long-term commitment to a juvenile reformatory) (Park, So-hyun, 2022; Ministry of Justice, Crime Prevention Policy Bureau, Guide to Procedures for Juvenile Protection Cases, retrieved May 29, 2026). As of 2025, 26,104 cases (85.8%) involved the imposition of an individual protective disposition under Types 1-6, while 2,132 cases (7.0%) involved facility-based dispositions (Types 7-10). In addition, 1,220 cases (4.0%) involved the concurrent imposition of multiple protective dispositions, and 954 cases were classified as other combined dispositions (Judicial Information Disclosure Portal of the Republic of Korea, Overview of Cases, 2024).

As of 2025, the recidivism rate among all individuals under probation was approximately 6.2%, while the corresponding rate for adult probationers was 3.9%. In contrast, the recidivism rate for juvenile probationers reached approximately 12.3%, substantially higher than that of adults. Because these figures indicate whether probationers reoffended during the probation period in the relevant year, they suggest that the effectiveness of the probation system warrants further institutional review. However, it should be noted that statistics on offense types and recidivism cover all juvenile offenders, including juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility. Accordingly, caution is required when interpreting or applying these findings specifically to juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility.