‘여성혐오 범죄 제도 개선’ 청원 심사 또 연장…“해결 의지 부족” 비판

The deadline for reviewing the "Improvement of Women-Hate Crimes Law and System" has been extended until the end of the current legislative term. Failure to address the petition in the latter part of the legislative period could result in the petition being abandoned without proper discussion. Critics argue that there is a lack of willingness to resolve the issue of the "women-hate crime legislative black hole".

The Committee on Gender Equality of the National Assembly approved an amendment to the bill on the review of the "Improvement of Women-Hate Crimes Law and System" on the 26th. The Rules of the National Assembly stipulate that a petition must be reviewed and reported to the Speaker within 90 days of its submission, with a one-time extension of up to 60 days possible if the review cannot be completed within the time frame.

However, long-term reviews for petitions can have their review periods extended further through a committee decision. This petition, submitted in October 2024, received the signatures of 65,255 individuals and was forwarded to the Gender Equality Committee last February. During the initial review, held in April of that year, the petition was discussed only once before being dropped without further debate.

It was noted in the petition that "criminal acts motivated by misogyny should not be downplayed as non-crimes and should be thoroughly investigated and punished." The petition called for clearer legal definitions and stricter punishments for crimes motivated by misogyny. A study by the former head of the Gender Equality Committee revealed that the current legal framework for investigating and addressing misogyny-related crimes is inadequate.

The lack of a legal framework for such crimes leaves victims without support and protection, creating a black hole. This has led to the persistent occurrence of misogyny-related crimes in recent years. In May of this year, a woman named Lee I-cha was killed by a male perpetrator named Kim Yun-gi in a case in which misogyny appeared to be a motive.

The incident highlighted the ongoing issue of misogyny-related crimes in society. Park Ji-ah, the director of Seoul Women's Center, criticized the government's inability to address misogyny, stating, "It's not that there is no solution, but there is no willingness to solve the problem."