Amid the controversy surrounding actor Kim Soo Hyun, it has now been reported that the National Assembly of South Korea is reviewing the Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act. Reportedly, since over 50,000 people have already signed the plea in less than 30 days, the proposal is referred to the relevant committee in the National Assembly.
Now, the committee has 90 days to decide if the plea should be discussed in the parliamentary session or not. It will also decide if the petition is eligible for the possible legislative action. More details are awaited.
The Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act urges the lawmakers of South Korea to raise the age of consent from the current 16 years to up to 19 years. For now, South Korean people attain adulthood at 19. However, the age of consent in the country is 16. With the Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act, netizens demand that anybody who engages in sexual intercourse with an underage individual aged 13 and 16, or indulges in intimate acts with those under 13 is considered rape.
The petition further calls for stricter punishment for those breaking these consent rules. It demands the punishment for molestation must be increased minimum two years of imprisonment and for rape, it must be five years of imprisonment. For now, punishment for molestation and rape in the country is only a fine and minimum of two years imprisonment, respectively.
South Korean actor Kim Soo Hyun has been accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was just a minor. So far, the latter’s family has made several allegations against Soo Hyun. However, Kim Soo Hyun recently held a press conference and addressed allegations. He said, “I’ll address the biggest concern—I did not date the deceased when she was a minor. We dated five years ago for about a year, long before Queen of Tears aired."
The actor also explained why he denied dating Sae Ron earlier, saying, “As the lead actor of Queen of Tears, I couldn’t confirm the relationship publicly because of its potential impact on the cast and crew." Kim also denied accusations that his agency pressured Sae Ron over her debts, saying, “Aside from the fact that we were both actors, we were simply an ordinary couple who broke up over time."
