Kim Da-ye welcomes the reform as lawmakers move to close a decades-old loophole that shielded relatives from punishment for property crimes.
Kim Da-ye, the wife of broadcaster Park Soo-hong, publicly welcomed South Korea’s decision to abolish the so-called kinship exemption, a provision that had long shielded family members from punishment for certain property crimes. On Wednesday, she shared news of the reform on social media, expressing relief at what she described as a long-overdue correction to the legal system.
Kim also posted an excerpt from a conversation she had with ChatGPT discussing the issue, adding the phrase “Soo-hong changed the country.” Her comment reflected the personal toll of the family embezzlement case involving her husband and underscored how a private dispute came to influence a broader public debate.
What the Kinship Exemption Was
The kinship exemption was introduced with the enactment of the Criminal Act in 1953. At the time, lawmakers believed the state should avoid intervening in family property disputes, assuming such matters could be resolved internally without criminal sanctions.
In practice, the provision meant that relatives who committed property crimes against one another were often exempt from punishment, even when there was a clear victim. Over the years, critics argued that the rule effectively denied victims within families the same level of legal protection available in other cases.
Constitutional Court Ruling Changed the Ground
As cases of financial abuse within families became more visible, pressure mounted for reform. In June last year, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that the exemption was incompatible with the Constitution, finding it unreasonable to prevent victims of intra-family property crimes from seeking criminal accountability.
The court stressed that the provision limited victims’ rights to participate in judicial proceedings and failed to reflect social realities in which family relationships can be a source of exploitation rather than protection.
Legislative Response and Key Changes
Following the ruling, the Ministry of Justice moved to amend the law. On the 30th, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed a revised Criminal Act that removed automatic immunity for relatives.
Under the amendment, property crimes among family members are now classified as complaint-based offenses. Prosecution can proceed if the victim files a complaint, regardless of the degree of kinship. The law also allows complaints against a spouse’s direct ancestors, closing a gap that previously limited accountability.
Retroactive Application and Victim Safeguards
The revised provision will be applied retroactively to cases that arose after the Constitutional Court’s ruling. To ensure access to justice, the amendment includes a special window allowing victims to file complaints within six months of the law’s enactment for relevant past cases.
Justice Ministry officials said the changes aim to preserve family autonomy where possible while ensuring that victims are no longer left without legal recourse simply because the offender is a relative.
Park Soo-hong Case and Broader Impact
Public attention to the issue intensified after Park Soo-hong filed embezzlement charges in 2021 against his older brother and sister-in-law. During the trial, Park alleged that large sums of his earnings had been misappropriated over many years, while his father argued he managed the assets and sought to rely on the kinship exemption.
In a recent appeals ruling, Park’s brother was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, while his sister-in-law received a suspended sentence. Both have appealed. Legal experts say the abolition of the kinship exemption signals a broader shift toward prioritising victim protection over rigid notions of family privacy, marking a significant change in South Korea’s approach to property crimes within families.
