Petition Calls for Stricter Laws Amidst Allegations Involving Actor Kim Soo-hyun

A heated debate continues over allegations involving actor Kim Soo-hyun (37) and the late actress Kim Sae-ron (25) regarding 'underage dating.' In response, a public petition has emerged, calling for an increase in the age of consent for statutory rape laws.

On October 31, a petition titled 'Petition for Raising the Age of Consent for Statutory Rape and Strengthening Penalties, also known as the 'Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act'' was posted on the National Assembly's electronic petition website. The petitioner stated, "We request that the current age range of 13 to under 16 for statutory rape protection be raised to 13 to under 19, and that penalties be strengthened."

The petitioner argued, "Recently, it was revealed that Hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun committed grooming sexual crimes against child actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, which has enraged the public. Unfortunately, the current statutory rape law only protects children aged 13 to under 16, making it impossible to legally prosecute Kim Soo-hyun."

The petitioner continued, "Although South Korean law clearly defines minors as those under 18, the age restriction of 13 to under 16 in the statutory rape law allows pedophiles to evade legal consequences. To prevent such incidents from happening again, we petition for the revision of the statutory rape law under the name 'Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act.'"

The petitioner demanded that the age range for statutory rape protection be raised from 13 to under 16 to 13 to under 19, and that the penalties be increased to a minimum of two years imprisonment for molestation and five years for rape.

The petition garnered over 19,000 signatures within a day. If a public petition receives more than 50,000 signatures within 30 days, it is referred to the relevant committee of the National Assembly for review and may be submitted to the plenary session for consideration.

Meanwhile, Kim Soo-hyun denied the allegations at a press conference held the previous day, stating, "I dated Kim Sae-ron when we were both adults, and the allegations of dating her as a minor are false." He claimed that "Kim Sae-ron's family is exaggerating some KakaoTalk messages to frame me as a 'pedophile and groomer.'"

Kim Soo-hyun has filed criminal charges against Kim Sae-ron's family and the operators of the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Institute' for defamation and violations of the Information and Communications Network Act. He has also filed a lawsuit seeking 12 billion won (approximately $120 million) in damages.

Reported by Min-kyung Lee, Ten Asia