Cabinet approves revision to protect underage victims of sex crimes

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; RECASTS lead)
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- Underage victims of sexual abuse will be allowed to demand reparation from their assailants when they become adults, the government said Tuesday as it struggles to fight rising number of such crimes.
The Cabinet approved a revision to the civil law suspending the statutory period for the right to demand compensation for a sexual crime until the victim becomes an adult, it said.
The revision, awaiting parliamentary approval, aims to protect the rights of minors who have been sexually assaulted as many of them shy away from seeking compensation as children even though they know the identity of the assailant.
Despite becoming belatedly aware of the physical harm they have suffered, by the time they reach adulthood, it is often too late to file for compensation as the current statutory period lasts for 10 years.
Under present civil law, victims can ask for compensation within three years of realizing they had been harmed or 10 years from when the illegal act took place.
The revision would extend those periods to five years and 20 years, respectively, according to the government.
The passage came as the government struggles to fight a growing number of sex crimes against children.
According to a recent study by the Korea Institute of Criminology, a state think tank, there were 16.9 cases of sexual assaults against minors for every 100,000 children in 2008, up 69 percent from 10 reported in 2005. The United States showed only a 2.9 percent increase during the same period while such crimes decreased 29 percent in Japan and 14.8 percent in Britain.
South Korea tightened punishment for sex offenders early last year following a string of brutal sexual assaults against minors that shocked the nation.
It also revised a criminal law, with approval from the parliament, suspending the statute of limitations for cases involving sexual crimes against children until the victim reaches the age of 20.
sshim@yna.co.kr