A petition for an increase in the age for statutory rape of minors and strengthening penalties, known as the "Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act," has emerged.

According to the National Assembly's electronic petition homepage on the 31st of last month, a petition titled 'Petition regarding the increase in age for statutory rape of minors and strengthening penalties, known as the "Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act,"' was posted on the civic agreement petition bulletin board.

The petitioner, Mr. A, said, "I hope to raise the current age for statutory rape of minors, which only protects children aged 13 to under 16, to 13 to under 19 and to strengthen the penalties."

Mr. A noted, "Recently, the grooming sexual crime committed by popular Hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun against former child actress Kim Sae-ron, who was a minor at the time, surfaced, causing outrage among the public. Unfortunately, the reality is that the statutory rape law only protects minors aged 13 to under 16, so Kim Soo-hyun cannot be legally penalized."

He continued, "Although South Korean law clearly defines minors up to the age of 18 for protection, the age limit of the statutory rape law that protects only minors aged 13 to under 16 has allowed a pedophile who seduced and deceived promising female actors from childhood to escape justice, ultimately resulting in their death. Therefore, to prevent this from happening again, I petition for an amendment to the statutory rape of minors law under the name 'Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act.'"

He argued for the following: "1. Raise the current age in the statutory rape law of minors from 13 to under 16 to 13 to under 19. 2. Change the current penalties for statutory rape of minors from a 2-year minimum sentence for sexual assault and rape to a 2-year minimum sentence for sexual assault and a 5-year minimum sentence for rape."

The petition will run until the 30th of this month, and if it receives more than 50,000 signatures, it will be formally referred to the National Assembly's relevant committee and related commissioners.

Previously, Kim Soo-hyun was embroiled in controversy over claims that he had been in a relationship with the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. The late Kim Sae-ron's family alleged through the YouTube channel "Garosero Research Institute" that Kim Sae-ron had dated Kim Soo-hyun for six years from November 2015, when she was a minor, until July 2021, and that the agency pressured them to pay a penalty of 700 million won due to a drunk driving accident.

In response to the repeated allegations, Kim Soo-hyun's side held a press conference on the same day at the Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, regarding the allegations of his underage relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron.

Dressed in a black suit, Kim Soo-hyun stated that while he had dated the late Kim Sae-ron for a year before the airing of "The Queen of Tears" four years ago, he did not date her while she was a minor. He also denied the family's claim that his indifference or the agency's debt pressure influenced the late Kim Sae-ron's death.

In particular, Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative has filed defamation charges against the family and an unnamed individual claiming to be an aunt, as well as the operators of the "Garosero Research Institute," and has also filed a lawsuit seeking approximately 12 billion won in damages against them. Kim Soo-hyun appealed, "What I did, I did. I can accept any criticism for that. But what I did not do, I did not do. I want to clarify that for all those who continue to believe in me. I do not ask you to believe in me. I will prove it."

[Photo] OSEN DB / Homepage capture

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