2. Reason for the Proposal
The Crime Victims Protection Act was revised (Law No. 20433; promulgated on September 20, 2024; effective from March 21, 2025) to introduce the Crime Victims' Human Rights Week and a system for installment payment of crime damage relief fund, and to allow District Council to request the provision of the financial property data and financial information of the perpetrators of crimes in connection with the subrogation of the right to claim damages. The revision aims to specify the matters delegated by the Act and the matters necessary for their enforcement, such as the timing of the Crime Victims' Human Rights Week, the reasons for and methods of installment payment of crime victim relief fund, and the procedures necessary for requesting the property data and financial information from the perpetrators of crimes, and also to strengthen the provision of direct support to crime victims by increasing the number of months multiplied by the monthly salary, monthly actual income, or average wage when calculating crime victim relief fund.
3. Main Contents
a. Introduction of Crime Victims' Human Rights Week (Article 10-4 of the draft)
To commemorate November 29, 1985, the date on which the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the week inclusive of November 29 every year is designated as the Crime Victims' Human Rights Week.
b. Reasons for and methods of installment payment of crime victim relief fund (Article 16 of the draft)
The revision specifies the reasons for which the Crime Victim Relief Council may decide on installment payments, including minors, persons under guardianship, persons who have not been reinstated after declaring bankruptcy, and persons to whom installment payments are deemed necessary for other reasons. In the case of installment payments, the principal amount shall be divided equally with interest at the rate prescribed under an ordinance by the Ministry of Justice within a period of 48 months.
c. Increase of the number of months when calculating the relief fund (Articles 22 to 24 of the draft)
The revision increases the number of months to be multiplied by the victim's monthly salary, monthly real income, or average monthly wage when calculating the amount of relief for a crime victim. It also increases the upper limit of the amounts of disability relief and severe injury relief from the average wage for 40 months to that for 48 months.
d. Procedures for requesting the perpetrator's property data and financial information (Article 38-2 of the draft)
The chairperson of the District Council, or a person instructed by the chairperson, may request the public prosecutor's office to allow a review or copying of a judgment, a finalized summary order, or a document containing the confession of the perpetrator, as necessary to determine whether to request the provision of the perpetrator's financial information. The procedure and method of destroying the data or information provided shall be governed by applying Article 16 of the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act with the necessary modification(s).
