미성년자에 대한 성적 침해와 손해배상청구권의 소멸시효

Through the revision of the Civil Act in 2020, Korea has established a new regulation to suspend the progress of the extinctive prescription until adulthood for the right to claim damages of minors due to sexual violence and other sexual infringement. Considering the specificity of sexual infringement cases against minors, this is not only a legitimate legislative measure but also a response to international legislative trends. In addition, I think it is inevitable in the interpretation of Korean civil law that the starting point of the long-term extinctive prescription was alleviated to the point when symptoms such as PTSD due to sexual infringement were diagnosed by a doctor. As is well known, apart from the regulations on the suspension of prescription, BGB, Code Civil, and Japanese civil laws stipulate the following long-term extinctive prescription period. In principle, BGB has 30 years for the right to claim damages due to intentional infringement of sexual self-determination rights (short-term prescription regulations are deleted), and Code Civil has 20 years for the right to claim damages due to sexual infringement against minors. In this regard, legislative proposals to extend the extinctive prescription period to short-term 10 years and long-term 20 years (or 30 years) continue in Korea. Excessive prolongation of the extinctive prescription period may be criticized as contrary to the original purpose of the prescription system. However, sexual infringement of minors should stop the progress of the extinctive prescription "until adulthood and until the end of community life with the perpetrator" in consideration of the specificity of the damage. Furthermore, the long-term extinctive prescription period should be greatly extended. Whether to set the period to 20 years or 30 years is a matter of legislative policy judgment, but if the starting point of the prescription is interpreted by easing as it is, I think it is possible to protect the rights even with a 20-year period.