[Opinion] Law Related to Domestic Violence

May is the `month of family`.

The reason why we remember it every year naming like this specially is because family is so precious.

However, in the beginning of this month of family, seriousness of domestic violence is reported and it gives shock to us.

If we see terrible face of victim, I feel like closing eyes.

There was not only wife who was lashed but also appeal of the husband stated that wife maltreated him.

They say, ¡° what is the use of living like this? ¡°

Among 12,983 people who were punished for domestic violence last year, 347 (2.4 percent) were wives who were punished for maltreating husbands and it increased to 5.9 percent as compared to the previous year.

By the way, the biggest victim of domestic violence is wife.

It amounted to 85 percent of total violence of the old (21 percent) and violence of children (1.1) percent can`t be excluded as well.

All of them are increasing more than 10 percent every year. Daegue district police reported that ¼ quarter of home violence this year increased 74.4 percent as compared to the same period of last year.

However, we know that two special laws were legislated in order to cut off domestic violence in 1999.

`Prevention law from domestic violence `that we know generally is for protecting victims and `special case law for punishing crime of domestic violence` contains special punishment that is different from general crime.

Both of these laws were made in a way that justice ministry accepted strong demand fro legislation of civil and social groups.

Prohibited approaching room by violent husband, prohibited approaching wife`s house or office within 100m, etc which we used to laugh seeing that judgement in newspapers are under such punishment for perfection.

Domestic violence is not applied to criminal law under the excuse that domestic violence is protecting issue until kit is not violated from such punishment for protecting for which period is the maximum 6 months only.

If son violates or injures his father, criminal law regulates it is lineal crime so that son can be punished aggravation.

However, if such conduct is brought out `within home` it becomes issue of domestic violence and it is excluded from criminal law.

Even if husband injured wife that endangered her life, if it occurred `at home`, husband can move around whistling for at least 6 months.

Therefore, if it is clever assaulter, he can receive an indulgence pretending to perform the content of judgment.

Needless to say, those whose wounds are deep are the very victims of violence.

However, standard of law should be one, not two.

There can`t be such a work that it can be right as well as wrong.

If it is like that, how could judge make conclusion?

If law turns into expedient people are confused which standard they should follow.

They can think that they don`t need to keep both of them.

The word that criminal law should not involve home means that it is limited to petty crime which doesn`t have to be criminal law act, not to admit home as kingdom of violator.

Law should be applied to each unit of society equally.

The reason how today domestic violence this situation is not because of lack of law.

We should look for the reason from lack of will and perception of machinery of law (or the judiciary) that doesn`t abide by the content which is in criminal law.

Bae Jong-dae (Prof. of Koryo university, Law Faculty)