“Hate the sin, not the sinner.” This saying means we should focus on his or her potential for change rather than sin itself. The spirit of love and tolerance is included in the saying.

Some people, including Tom, became criminals under unavoidable circumstances. Tom was recently accused of stealing 18 eggs from a boarding house in Gyeonggi-do. Before COVID-19, he earned his livelihood by doing manual labor. However, due to COVID-19, he lost his job and public meal places which was the only way to satisfy his hunger. Such situations made him commit theft. He couldn’t help stealing food to survive.

As mentioned above, since COVID-19, we can easily see news about ‘COVID-19 Jean Valjean’ going to prison for stealing a loaf of bread. The story about Jean Valjean, who served 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, is widely known. ‘COVID-19 Jean Valjean’ means people committing a crime such as stealing rice and essential food because of danger in their livelihood. The danger does not only mean losing a job or having no income. Tom became a criminal not only because he lost his job but also the least amount of meal was not guaranteed for his survival.

Is it reasonable to treat ordinary larceny and survival theft as equivalent without enough consideration? The fact that this question arises indicates that society has to show toleration for them. So, let’s take a look at the ongoing and future endeavors for the spirit of love and tolerance.

The first is the ‘Minor Crimes Tribunal’. This screening system decides whether to mitigate the punishment of summary trial for misdemeanors or not. Starting in May 2016, this system was instituted and reduced the punishment for 111 people. The police brings a criminal to the judging committee to judge whether it is a crime for living or an opportunistic crime. Also, he or she being socially weak, like the poor and the disabled, would be put on a trial. A Judging Committee of experts like the police chief, professor, and lawyer considers all the facts such as: the degree of damage, the seriousness of the crime, the criminal record and imposes a light punishment.

This system could encourage transparent and reasonable law enforcement by returning socially tolerable criminals to society and preventing indiscriminate production of criminals through the implementation of this system. In particular, this system received positive comments for limiting the production of ‘modern-day Jean Valjean’ and decreasing damage caused by the results of appending scarlet letter.

However, there are limitations to the system because deciding whether refer to a committee or not depends on the subjective judgment of the police officer in charge. The reason it is hard to activate the system is the nonexistence of explicit language that could place a burden on the police officer in charge if the controversy about fairness has been produced. So, it is necessary to create an objective basis or laws to improve the system.

Next, let’s take a look at a special bank, which is established by citizens who try not to make poverty the way to prison; called the ‘Jean Valjean Bank’. Jean Valjean Bank offers its services by lending money to people who is in danger of being imprisoned for not having enough money to pay a fine. ‘Jean Valjean Bank’ has recently come into focus because of an incident that happened in Seoul Eastern Prison Building. Last December, 918 people in the building were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 in just four days. It was due to the maladministration of disinfection and overcrowding which is a good condition for the virus to spread easily.

However, in prison, not all people have committed serious anti-social crimes. . Many of them were sentenced to a fine but they were jailed for not having enough money to pay a fine. They're overcompensating for guilt. The number of this type of people exceeds 40,000 every year. An economic crisis like the one caused by COVID-19 has no choice but to increase the number of this type of people.

The Jean Valjean bank is run with funds from personal and group donations. They start to offer their loan service when a certain amount of money

is saved. There are some priorities for the loan service, which include teens, heads of household, minors, national basic livelihood act recipients, and the working poor. They can get a loan of money to the extent of 3 million won, interest- free. In order to apply for the loan service, visit a Jean Valjean Bank homepage and click the loan application tap.

Moreover, besides systems that are already operating, there are some ongoing efforts to help someone who commits the crime for one’s survival. ‘The Amendment Additional Punishment Law on Specific Crimes’ that has been proposed recently, could be a good example of ongoing efforts. According to Item 1 of Para. 5 of Article 5 of the Additional Punishment Law on Specific Crimes, any person who wasted time on charges of stealing and committed theft again shall be sentenced to two years to twenty years. Also, according to the same law, anyone who was jailed more than twice because of the repetition of stealing and theft in 3 years shall be sentenced to three years to twenty-five years. In this situation, methods of crime, motives for crime and everything are all carefully considered to judge whether he or she is a recidivist offender or not.

In Tom’s case, he faced a year and a half in prison because he stole 18 eggs due to a situation that he couldn’t have meals for 10 days because of a livelihood crisis.

It may seem like an excessive punishment in this situation. However, Tom’s previous conviction was revealed, and therefore was accused of Additional Punishment Law on Specific Crimes.

But on May 26th, 2021, the prosecution decided to accuse him of Trespass rather than Additional Punishment Law on Specific Crimes. They decided that application of Additional Punishment Law would give an excessive punishment based on several reasons: he continues to reflect on wrongdoings that he did, he committed a crime for survival, and the damage is not so big.

Arguments, about whether the application of the Additional Punishment Law on crimes for living is excessive or not, are continued even until now. Some say that it is excessive to apply The Additional Punishment Law for crimes for survival. They also assert that the legal system which does not consider scale and characteristics of crime but only focuses on ‘repeated’ crime is responsible for increasing the number of ‘COVID-19 Jean Valjean. Because criminals who committed crimes to survive have no assurance of economic stability after being released from prison, and therefore are more likely to commit theft again.

But there are some people who took a contrary position. A lawyer said that it is right to pronounce additional punishment to someone who committed theft again; punished for stealing before. She also said people must know that some who commit crimes for their living are not all criminals and there are also criminals who stole tens of billions. That is to say, it is true that the current legal system needs improvement to specify rules considering various conditions of a crime, but it is also true that the current legal system is not wrong.

Lastly, trying not to make income inequality as a way to punish inequality is a matter of the welfare system as well as the legal system. According to a report, Tom, who was mentioned in the beginning, was located in a dead zone of welfare. He is a recipient of basic living but he was underprivileged. Because the agency could not account for him due to the fact that he has no permanent home.

The Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Lee Jae- myeong, pointed out the limitations and problems of the selective welfare system. It made him feel so sad that Tom was sentenced to one year in prison. Because if Tom just visits a community service center, he could get lots of help since he is eligible for various kinds of welfare policies. In addition, the Governor criticized traits of our welfare system that it helps people in a selective way. This characteristic makes it hard for the poor to ask for help because he or she has to prove

poverty of themselves and it is also difficult to fully understand the complex selective welfare system. So, the welfare system needs to evolve to meet the whole needs of society by expanding promotion and reducing the blind spot.

Nothing in this world is perfect. As mentioned above, there is no doubt that there is a loophole in the legal system. Considering the poor by a one-sided view who became criminals because of the lack of minimum life quality in order to survive is not a loophole, but a fallacy. We must try to make a legal system by the people for the people. It should not leave out the spirit of love and tolerance even if it is just an institution.