제 4 호 Should the Statute of Limitations stay As It Is?
Kicker: OPINION(POLICY)
Should the Statute of Limitations stay As It Is?
Various positions and prospects of the statute of limitations
by Yu-Jeong Kim, Reporter
kyjmimi121@naver.com
Do you know about the recent Hwaseong serial murder incident? About 30 years later, the real culprit of the crime, which happen in 1986, was arrested. People were angry and of course thought strong punishment was natural. But as the end of the statute of limitations for murder was in 2006, in fact there is no way to punish him. People are calling for the punishment of not only the murderer but also many violent criminals, regardless of the limitation period for prosecution. Thereafter, people are also interested and curious about the statute of limitations. Let’s find out what the limitation period for prosecution is and will consider and deal with the direction of improvement.
▲ The recent rise of interest in the statute of limitations in relation to violent crimes
▷ Definition and description of statute of limitations
The statute of limitation is a system in which the right to punishment expires after a certain period of time. Therefore, once the statute of limitations is completed, even if a crime is committed, it is not subject to investigation and prosecution. The statute of limitations has been introduced as a matter of fact that, over time, evidence is difficult to preserve and punishment is less effective. The statute of limitations shall be imposed when the prosecution cannot exercise its right to prosecution, or when the accused person dies. Also, the duration of the statute of limitations also depends on the offense. For example, life imprisonment is 15 years and imprisonment for more than 10 years is 10 years.
▷ Controversy over the statute of limitations and the history of transformation
Over time, the statute of limitations has been introduced and operated to prevent evidence from disappearing, weaken in social attention, and guarantee in the security of the living defendants. However, with the recent development of forensic techniques, there are more and more questions about the meaning of the statute of limitations. Especially in May 1999, Kim Tae-wan (6 years old at the time of death) was killed by a violent sulfur terrorist attack, and his case will never be forgotten. As a result, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, the so-called 'Taewan law', 'which completely abolished the statute of murder for 2015. It is also due to the fact that prolonging the statute of limitations does not prove that the possibility of resolving a case of unjust crime is high enough. In addition, there are some people who are worried that if resources are concentrated in the past due to extending the statute of limitations, crimes of the present will not be investigated well due to the limited number of investigative personnel.
▲ History of the statute of limitations in Korean law
I personally believe that the statute of limitations should be abolished. Because I think it is nonsense that there is a statute of limitations and you cannot realistically punish serious criminals. In addition, even the past crimes are crimes. If you commit a crime, the punishment for it is reasonable. In addition, if there is no punishment by exploiting the statute of limitations and enduring it for a long time, I believe that more criminals will continue to be created in our country in the long run. In fact, the Hwaseong serial murder case could have been immediately punished without the statute of limitations. Without a statute of limitations, interest in and investigation of ongoing crimes can be undertaken. In addition, our society will be able to reduce crime. There may be various opinions on this statute of limitations. As this issue is closely related to crime and society, we expect to have a lot of stories to talk about. Please tell us what you think about the statute of limitations.
▶Yu-Jeong Kim, Reporter
