A file photo of the South Korean Supreme Court (Supreme Court of Korea)

A draft of new sentencing guidelines unveiled on Monday calls for tougher penalties for severe and repeated cases of animal cruelty, a move widely seen as a push to end a long era of leniency in the judicial treatment of such offenses.

The guidelines, drafted at a meeting of the Supreme Court’s sentencing commission on Friday, are the top court’s first formal framework for animal abuse crimes, a court spokesperson told local media. The move comes as public concern over animal cruelty has grown steadily in recent years.

The commission plans to conduct further deliberations before finalizing the guidelines by March and distributing them to courts nationwide, the top court official added.

Unlike statutory requirements like mandatory minimums that set fixed sentences, sentencing guidelines give judges a roadmap for weighing specific factors that can make penalties tougher or lighter within an established range.

While not legally binding, these guidelines set clear standards that judges must justify departing from, making it harder to hand down lenient sentences as is common for animal abuse cases.

Current South Korean law under the Animal Protection Act sets maximum penalties of three years imprisonment or 30 million won ($23,000) for fatal animal abuse, and two years or 20 million won for cases causing injury.

However, courts rarely impose these maximum sentences, with most offenders receiving only fines instead of jail time.

Of 82 animal abuse cases in 2022, only five resulted in prison sentences while 46 resulted in fines, according to Supreme Court records.

The new guidelines push for tougher sentences when abuse involves multiple animals or occurs over extended periods, making it more likely that serious offenders will face prison time or substantial fines.

In fatal cases, these factors would raise standard sentences of 4 months to 1 year imprisonment or fines of 3-12 million won to 8 months to 2 years or 5-20 million won fines. Cases with multiple aggravating elements could reach the statutory maximum of three years.

For non-fatal abuse, sentences would increase from 2-10 months and 1-10 million won fines to 4-18 months and 3-15 million won when aggravating factors are present.

Judges can hand down lighter sentences if the abuse was not intentional and the offenders paid proper compensation.