NationStates Jolt Archive

S Korea parents fined over rape

A South Korean court has fined the parents of a teenage rapist more than $60,000 (£40,000) for failing to supervise their son.

The 18-year-old, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, raped a local seven-year-old girl in 2006.

The court said the boy had grown up watching pornography and had imitated a film he had seen, during the attack.

It said his parents could have prevented the crime with appropriate education, but neglected their duty.

The teenager is serving a 10-year sentence for the rape, but a court in Seoul ruled that his parents were also liable for his crime.

A court statement said: "The parents could have prevented the crime with appropriate education but failed to show enough attention to their child.

"They neglected their duty to raise their child so that he can properly adjust to society."

The girl's parents were seeking 225m won ($165,000; £111,000) in damages.

The identities of all the parties involved in the case have been withheld.

Analysts say the case raises many questions about the extent to which parents can be held responsible for the actions of their children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7782245.stm

I'm not sure what I think of this. On one hand I like the idea of parents being held responsible if they do a bad job of bringing up their children but on the other I think people should be held responsible for their own actions.

So you great unwashed of NSG, what do you think?

I blame the grandparents for not raising the kids parents properly

How are the parents responsible if their child is an adult when he committed the crime? Also, how are they responsible if they are unaware of the child's actions?

Sometimes I do feel the parent/guardian (s) should carry the blame or partial blame, sometimes not. It depends on many factors. Too many to blanket it.



I blame the grandparents for not raising the kids parents properly

hehe

This is wrong. If they were not raising their child adequately when he was still a minor, some sort of child services agency should have intervened. What he does as an adult is on him alone. It would be different if the parents had kept him in a cage for 15 years and he had escaped and hurt someone, having no understanding of the outside world, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

I like the ADHD throw-in though. Harkens back to the twinkie defense.

Hmph, I'd expect things like that (only with porn specified as hentai) from Japanese.

I know that both Scripture and the US constitution forbid the corruption of blood, in other words, people are cannot be punished for the actions of their family. This is S. Korea however, so I do not know how they do things, but it seems not to be right- I would suggest hospitalization for the young man to help him get back on the right path.

Eh decidedly dodgy. Not really sure that the actions of an 18-year-old are their fault. Hell if I went up to the uni and stole a bunch of pads of paper or something (the cash is all kept in safes, behind plexiglass, so this is about the best I'd be getting), I wouldn't want anything to happen to my family, esp. since I don't even live with them.

Yes, he's an adult, so he is accountable for himself. Period. Even as a minor, no parents can control someone that much. Control is sometimes an illusion. Someone who has such a strong desire to do something, for instance, having sex with a girlfriend, is going to do it. The same applies for illegal acts. Teenagers have a mind of their own too.

IANAD, but I doubt ADHD has anything to do with desire for power, because thats what rape really is.

How are the parents responsible if their child is an adult when he committed the crime? Also, how are they responsible if they are unaware of the child's actions?

He wasn't an adult when he committed the crime. He was 16.

And.. exactly the point being made by the fine. They weren't paying attention and were unaware of the child's actions.

"They neglected their duty to raise their child so that he can properly adjust to society."

Ah, society, how I loathe thee.

I think the parents shouldn't really be blamed. They should have paid more attention to their kid, yes, but its the actions of the individual that should be punished.

I know that both Scripture and the US constitution forbid the corruption of blood, in other words, people are cannot be punished for the actions of their family. This is S. Korea however, so I do not know how they do things, but it seems not to be right- I would suggest hospitalization for the young man to help him get back on the right path.
I think that getting the living crap beaten out of him for 10 straight years in prison will probably sort him out.

He wasn't an adult when he committed the crime. He was 16.

And.. exactly the point being made by the fine. They weren't paying attention and were unaware of the child's actions.

Dhurrr....

I read that but the process of adding two and two failed.

Now then... how could they have been aware of his actions when they weren't around? He could have been discrete about it, and maybe was well trusted by his parents. The people who blend well into crowds are able to get away with more until they do something extreme.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7782245.stm

I'm not sure what I think of this. On one hand I like the idea of parents being held responsible if they do a bad job of bringing up their children but on the other I think people should be held responsible for their own actions.

So you great unwashed of NSG, what do you think?

Parents are not held responsible for the actions of their children unless said parents were negligent in some way, and that negligence led to the wrong doing.

Same sort of principles apply over here...the kid grew up watching pornography? Seriously? Though 16 is still fairly old to be holding the parents liable for negligence...it could be possible here as well.

Dhurrr....

I read that but the process of adding two and two failed.

Now then... how could they have been aware of his actions when they weren't around? He could have been discrete about it, and maybe was well trusted by his parents. The people who blend well into crowds are able to get away with more until they do something extreme.

Well they weren't around. According to the article they pretty much left the kid to his own devices, or worse, let him watch porno for whatever reason. Maybe they couldn't handle little Jimmy's (I know Jimmy is not a Korean Name) obnoxious behavior and temper tantrums, or didn't want to deal with Jimmy (Jimmy-san?) so they popped in the poon movies and told him to shut the fuck up?

For whatever reason the court decided that the parents did not teach thier son the values and laws of thier society; and punished them in the manner it saw fit. It could have been much worse...

Parents are not held responsible for the actions of their children unless said parents were negligent in some way, and that negligence led to the wrong doing.

Same sort of principles apply over here...the kid grew up watching pornography? Seriously?

The problem is, this is not a minor...and unless he is considered mentally incapacitated, I'm not sure how the parents could continue to be responsible for his supervision? Odd...

He was ~16 at the time of the rape.

I grew up watching pornography, when you're a horny teenager you find a lot of ways to circumvent the rules laid down by your parents.

I know that both Scripture and the US constitution forbid the corruption of blood, in other words, people are cannot be punished for the actions of their family.

The same scripture that says the son will be punished for the sins of father for multiple generations? "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me"

I wonder if the people who so adamantly defend how the issue of discipline of their children should be solely left to them would be quite willing to agree with the judges decision then.

Dhurrr....

I read that but the process of adding two and two failed. Moi aussi. I read your post about him being an adult, then that post and got all confuddle. I also blame just waking up from a nap, and possible the negligent manner in which I was raised.

Now then... how could they have been aware of his actions when they weren't around? He could have been discrete about it, and maybe was well trusted by his parents. The people who blend well into crowds are able to get away with more until they do something extreme.
Having no idea how S.Korea figures things, I'd argue the negligence route...you'd have to show that the breach led directly to the rape though, which would be easier if the rapist was 10 or even 13 when he did it.

He was ~16 at the time of the rape.

I grew up watching pornography, when you're a horny teenager you find a lot of ways to circumvent the rules laid down by your parents.

Yeah, thanks for the clarificaiton, took me a while to catch up.

The problem would be if he was accessing said porn while on his 'parents' watch' or being provided with it by his parents...in the first case, negligent supervision, in the second, child abuse.

It'd be a stretch to link all of that to the final outcome, if you were trying to argue it here...but theoretically it'd be possible.

Yeah, thanks for the clarificaiton, took me a while to catch up.

You would have realized it earlier if you weren't so Keen on ignoring everything I type Neesika :p.

I too am ambivalent about this case. Absolutely it is primarily the son who is at fault for this horrible crime. But I think in the cases of most juvenile crime, the parents must accept some responsibility - either for being neglectful or for raising their children with values in conflict with those of reasonable society.

I blame the grandparents for not raising the kids parents properly
I blame the society that creates a market for pornography and encourages violent, sexual fantasies. All South Koreans should be forced to pay a fine every time someone is convicted of a crime.

I do think the parents are responsible. Letting their child watch porn and not educating him about sex is a pretty neglectful. The parents are not exactly guilty of raping the 7 year old themselves but they are guilty of neglecting their son.

I know that both Scripture and the US constitution forbid the corruption of blood, in other words, people are cannot be punished for the actions of their family.
?Uh, the sins of the father afflict unto several generations?

I agree that the US legal system does not punish the child for the parent's crimes, but Scripture certainly does...

An 18 year old adult male rapes a 7 year old girl, and the parents are held responsible? [EDIT: Just found out he was 16 at the time, but still...]

When was this person diagnosed with ADHD? Does he have a psychiatrist? Would this psychiatrist have been aware of any potential voilence he may commit? ADHD - even though I agree that it exists - is overdiagnosed. Maybe he has more serious problems. Or perhaps he's just a bad kid. And, sure, there's lots of bad parents and bad parenting does affect the way a child grows up and influences the kind of person they become, but I don't see how fining the parents of an adult is going undo what's happened, and it won't do anything to stop them being bad parents, raise awareness about the dangers of bad parenting.

An 18 year old adult male rapes a 7 year old girl, and the parents are held responsible? When was this person diagnosed with ADHD? Does he have a psychiatrist? Would this psychiatrist have been aware of any potential voilence he may commit? ADHD - even though I agree that it exists - is overdiagnosed. Perhaps he's just a bad kid. And, sure, there's lots of bad parents and bad parenting does affect the way a child grows up and influences the kind of person they become, but I don't see how fining the parents of an adult is going undo what's happened,
and it won't do anything to stop them being bad parents, raise awareness about the dangers of bad parenting.

He was 16 when he committed the crime in 2006, 2 years ago. The rapeist has served 2 years of his 10 year sentence already; I pointed this out twice already...
It was 2 years later that the court found the parents guilt of neglect after a civil case filed by the victims family.

I consumed vast amounts of porn and I went with ADHD undiagnosed until I was 25. I never raped a seven year old girl. Many people consume vast amounts of porn and ADHD or not, the vast majority never rape anybody. I suspect there's something else wrong with the guy. I further suspect that after a good healthy beating and epic groin kicking by the girl's family, a psychiatrist is probably in order. *nod*

I consumed vast amounts of porn and I went with ADHD undiagnosed until I was 25.

So your young adult diet consisted mostly of wood pulp fiber, inks and magnetic tape? Can't be healthy. Or maybe that's why you had ADHD. :p

Parents are not held responsible for the actions of their children unless said parents were negligent in some way, and that negligence led to the wrong doing.

Same sort of principles apply over here...the kid grew up watching pornography? Seriously? Though 16 is still fairly old to be holding the parents liable for negligence...it could be possible here as well.

Okay I need to straighten this up for you and everyone really quick. It is sort of confusing so pay attention.

1. the age of adulthood in Korea is 19 not 18.
1.B The age of adulthood is measured in western or international age.

2. Korean age is different. (just confirmed with Korean new reporter friend, it was Korean age used.) Korean age works like this. 100 days after your born you turn 1 year old (its counting the 9 months in the womb) then every lunar new year you grow 1 year older. so if the kid is 18 in Korean age he is 16 or 17 in western age. and 16 at the time of the rape in korean age would make him 14 or 15.

3. Blood money.
This is nothing new in Korea and is fairly common. Here is how it works in cases where one person is clearly the victim and another is the perpetrator.
the perpetrator(and his family) upon conviction can agree to pay blood money and receive a lighter sentence with the agreement of the victim or victim's family(in cases of minors or murder).
then what happens is both enter amounts of money and a judge sets the amount in the middle.

judging from the lack of articles in Korean (took like 30 minutes to find one) this seems more like BBC had a slow news day and was watching the AP ticker and wrote an article off a poor translation of legal procedings they don't understand.

So your young adult diet consisted mostly of wood pulp fiber, inks and magnetic tape? Can't be healthy. Or maybe that's why you had ADHD. :p

What were we talking about? :confused:

He was 16 when he committed the crime in 2006, 2 years ago. The rapeist has served 2 years of his 10 year sentence already; I pointed this out twice already...
It was 2 years later that the court found the parents guilt of neglect after a civil case filed by the victims family.

I know he was 16, I edited it immediately.

I'm not sure what I think of this. On one hand I like the idea of parents being held responsible if they do a bad job of bringing up their children but on the other I think people should be held responsible for their own actions.

So you great unwashed of NSG, what do you think?

Underage people are under the power and the responsibility of their parents (or legal substitutes thereof). So, I think it's perfectly normal to fine the parents. They're responsible for neglecting to educate properly the rapist.