Commission may release photos of people convicted of sex crimes with minors

Home > National > Social Affairs

print dictionary print

Commission may release photos of people convicted of sex crimes with minors

The Commission on Youth Protection may make public the addresses and pictures of people convicted of sex crimes against minors.

"Arguments have been raised that the related clauses on sex offenders are too loose," Lee Seung-hee, a commissioner, said on Tuesday.

Ms. Lee said the commission would release much more detailed information about the offenders than in the past. "There is not much point to making it public if we just give the name of the city and district where the offender lives," she said.

For repeat sex offenders who pose a threat to the community, the commission will consider making pictures and more specific address information available, Ms. Lee said.

She added that the final decision will come after the Constitutional Court rules on the level of disclosure of personal information the commission is allowed.

Meanwhile, the commission released the names of 671 convicted sex offenders, along with their occupations, birth dates, residential districts and a summary of their crimes against minors. The information will be published in government newsletters, the commission's Internet home page and other official government Web sites.

The list of sex offenders recently approved for release by the Ministry of Justice included doctors, journalists and educators.

Fifty-three women are on the list, including one who met a 17-year-old boy over the Internet and paid him for sexual intercourse on eight occasions. The remaining 52 women were owners of bars who hired male prostitutes for female customers.

An American English teacher convicted of attempting to rape one of his students is also on the list, along with a security guard who surreptitiously videotaped underage girls with three other foreigners.

Crimes related to sexual assault are the most common on the list, followed by prostitution.

by Kang Joo-an

Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)