The government is considering lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility by one year from the current 14 but the final decision will be made after additional opinion-gathering, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Tuesday. Currently, children under the age of 14 cannot be held criminally responsible in Korea. If such children commit offenses, they are referred to community service programs or youth correction institutions. But there have long been calls to lower the age threshold in response to a rise in crimes committed by young teenagers. In February, President Lee Jae Myung instructed the government to gather public opinions on the issue. In a report to the Cabinet, the ministry said it may revise the age range of criminal minority from the current "10 years old or older and under 14 years old" to "10 years old or older and under 13 years old" in cases of violent, serious or repetitive crimes. The ministry presented the results of various public opinion polls to support proposed changes to the current law. In a poll of 199 adults and 43 youths, support for uniformly