SEOUL– The government decided to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility by one year to 13 to cope with an increasing number of serious crimes committed by juveniles, sources said Monday.

Currently, minors under the age of 14 cannot be convicted of a crime in South Korea. If such children committed offenses, they are referred to social service programs or youth correction institutions.

The justice ministry has recently decided to lower the age to 13 after four months of studies on the issue, sources said.

The ministry is expected to announce proposed revisions of relevant clauses in the Criminal Act and the Juvenile Act as early as this week, they said.

The decision came amid growing calls for stern measures to deal with ever-increasing serious youth crimes.

During his election campaign, President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to lower the age limit by two years to 12.

The ministry launched a task force for the revision in June under the direction of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.

Source: Yonhap News Agency