젠더혐오범죄에 대한 형사정책적 대응 방안: 여성혐오 범죄를 중심으로

Abstract

A recent horrific example of a gender-based hate crime provoked a full-blown discussion on its characteristics and attendant criminal justice responses within South Korea. On May 14th 2016, at 12:33AM local time, a 34-year-old man, surnamed Kim, allegedly hid searching for a female victim at the gender-neutral restroom inside a karaokebar in Seocho-district located between Gangnam and Shinnonhyeon Metro Stations in downtown Seoul. Waiting until six men left the toilet at 01:07 AM, the perpetrator murdered a 23-year-old female victim by stabbing her left chest four times with a 32.5-cm-long kitchen knife. In order to counter such forms of hate crimes, various other countries have taken efforts to form appropriate criminal justice responses. For instance, the U.S. Congress has enacted special acts to conduct a scientific analysis of hate crime statistics. Meanwhile, the German authorities, which have been less alarmed by such forms of crime, now begin to concentrate their efforts on investigating and revising the existing criminal laws to impose additional punishment on the perpetrators. Although the Korean authorities have similarly considered enacting a special legislation on gender-based hate crimes, some critics oppose it on the grounds that enacting a new criminal law to define and criminalize such crimes and to impose additional punishment on its perpetrators could violate the most basic principle of nulla poena sine lege. The critics also hold that imposing additional punishment merely on the grounds of a crime motif does not concord with current legal provisions. Justices at the Supreme Court of Korea concur with the reasoning when it conclude in its recent ruling that current sentencing can still accommodate the needs of additional punishment in gender-based hate crime cases, if required and that a special legislation targeted on the crime is unnecessary. In light of the recent discussions, it seems reasonable to hold that a special legislation to impose additional punishment on perpetrators of hate crimes needs not be adopted. A more realistic and effective criminal policy should entail a comprehensive strategy in finding the root cause of gender-based crimes, albeit it being a slow and protracted process. When implemented consistently, the policy can rejuvenate a vibrant civil community based on mutual trust and dependence. It seems to have the best potentials of not only preventing gender-based hate crime in the future, but also of laying the foundations for a safer and happier community that all citizens desire.