The Criminal Act provision on the "relative exemption for property crimes among family members" that exempted punishment for property crimes committed between relatives has been abolished.
The Ministry of Justice said on the 30th that a Criminal Act amendment to unify property crimes between relatives as offenses prosecutable only upon complaint, regardless of the scope of relatives, passed the National Assembly plenary session.
The provision on the relative exemption drew attention as broadcaster Park Su-hong's older brother and his spouse were investigated on charges of embezzling about 6 billion won of Park's appearance fees (embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes). Park's father was said to have told prosecutors that he actually managed Park's funds and that he was the main party to the embezzlement.
If this is true, Park's father's embezzlement cannot be punished. Under Article 328(1) of the current Criminal Act, embezzlement committed between direct lineal relatives, such as parents and children, cannot be punished. This is the provision on the relative exemption. Because of this, suspicions were raised that Park's father exploited the provision so that Park's older brother would not be punished.
The relative exemption is a special provision introduced in 1953 in the Criminal Act on the premise that the state does not intervene in property disputes within families. In June last year, the Constitutional Court found it unconstitutional but allowed it to remain temporarily, saying it was unreasonable that victims of property harm within families could not properly invoke the state's penal authority. Afterward, the government pushed to amend the Criminal Act to abolish the relative exemption system by the end of this year, the legislative deadline set by the court.
Under the amended Criminal Act, property crimes among relatives will be converted from punishment exemption to offenses prosecutable only upon complaint, requiring a victim's complaint to bring charges. Complaints will also be allowed against a spouse's lineal ascendants. The revised provision on the relative exemption applies retroactively to cases that occurred from the time the court issued its unconstitutional-but-temporarily-valid decision.