A petition calling for revisions to South Korea's statutory rape laws, dubbed the "Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act," has reached over 50,000 signatures and will now be reviewed by the National Assembly.
The petition, which was posted to the National Assembly's official electronic petition site on March 31, had collected 51,083 signatures as of 5 p.m. on April 7.
Under current rules, a petition must receive at least 50,000 signatures within 30 days to be forwarded to a relevant legislative committee for review.
The petition proposes raising the protected age range under the country's statutory rape laws from the current 13–15 years old to 13–18 years old, effectively making anyone under the age of 19 legally protected from sexual acts with adults.
It also calls for harsher penalties: a minimum of two years' imprisonment for molestation and a minimum of five years for rape.
"Recently, the grooming sex crime committed by Hallyu star Kim Soo Hyun against child actress Kim Sae Ron—who was a minor at the time—has come to light, enraging the public," the petitioner wrote.
"Unfortunately, statutory rape laws currently only protect children aged 13 to under 16, which means Kim Soo Hyun cannot be legally punished."
The petitioner criticized the legal gap, adding, "South Korean law clearly defines minors as those under 18, yet the statutory rape law only protects those aged 13 to under 16, allowing pedophiles to escape legal consequences."
The proposal has been referred to the appropriate National Assembly committee, which must determine within 90 days whether to advance the bill to a full session for debate.
Kim Soo Hyun, who is under public scrutiny, has denied any wrongdoing.
At a press conference held March 31 at the Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Seoul, he stated,
"I did not have a relationship with the deceased while she was a minor."
The case has sparked widespread public discussion, especially following reports that Kim Sae Ron, a former child actress, was allegedly in a romantic relationship with Kim while underage.
The families of the two parties have issued conflicting statements about the nature and timeline of the relationship.
