Gov't, PPP move to broaden disclosure of suspects' IDs

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Gov't, PPP move to broaden disclosure of suspects' IDs

Published: 18 Jun. 2023, 19:25 Updated: 18 Jun. 2023, 19:26

The surveillance footage of a man only identified as Lee attacking a random woman in front of an elevator in Busan in May 2022. Lee was sentenced to 20 years for assault and rape attempt. [VIDEO CAPTURE]

The government and the People Power Party (PPP) have agreed to push the crafting of a special bill that would disclose the identity of people accused of serious crimes even after their indictment.

Additionally, the government and the party also agreed to reinforce the testing of radiation of marine products amid continuing public concern over Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from its Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima.

Top government officials on Sunday met with PPP lawmakers led by the party’s chief Kim Gi-hyeon at Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s residence.

The government and the party agreed that the special bill will call for disclosing the identity of people accused of committing major crimes such as drug offenses, organized crime, terrorism and insurrection,

In particular, it would call for disclosing the identities of people suspected of random attacks, especially against women.

The bill will demand the recently taken mugshots be used when disclosing the suspect's identity to the public.

“The government and the party have taken seriously the heinous crimes that were committed recently, including the ‘Busan roundhouse kick’ and the Jung Yoo-jung murder,” said PPP Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, who is the party’s spokesperson.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, second from right, with People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon, second from left, and other government officials including Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, right, and party's lawmakers at the prime minister's residency in Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Under the existing law, the identity of the perpetrator can be disclosed only before an indictment. Once the case goes to trial, the identity of the suspect must remain undisclosed.

Even if the identity of an offender is made public on the sex offender registry after a conviction, there are restrictions to the use of the information, with people forbidden from sharing or posting online photos of the offender.

The issue has recently become a hot topic largely thanks to the so-called "Busan roundhouse kick" case, where the identity of the assailant who knocked out and attempted to sexually assault a woman remains undisclosed, while Jung Yoo-jung, a 23-year-old woman accused of murdering a complete stranger, covered her entire face when in public even after her identity was disclosed.

The Busan roundhouse kick assailant's identity disclosed through a YouTuber. However, under existing law, the identity of the person who is found guilty of crime is not allowed to be disclosed publicly once indicted. [YOUTUBE CAPTURE]

The Busan roundhouse kick case has aroused particular public backlash as the identity of the assailant under the existing law cannot be disclosed in public despite him being sentenced to 20 years for serious crimes, including assault and attempted rape.

Despite a recent appeals court decision to raise the attacker's sentence from 12 to 20 years, the victim continues to express fear that he will seek revenge after his release. The assailant's cellmate said he knows the victim's address and has repeatedly sworn he will seek vengeance.

The 23 year-old Jung Yoo-jung, who killed another woman of same age in Busan being taken by police on June 2. Although Jung's identity was disclosed, she continued to hide her face in public. [YONHAP]

The government and the PPP have also agreed to work on lowering the public’s fear over Japan’s discharging of treated radioactive water from its crippled nuclear power plant.

Although the treated radioactive water has not yet been released into the ocean, the tunnels where the treated water will mix with seawater are already filled and testing is underway, signaling that the waters will be discharged in the near future.

The government and the party agreed to more than double the number of test sites from the current 92 to 200 while shortening the time of testing the concentration of cesium and tritium from one to three months to every two weeks.

Additionally, the government and the party have also agreed to establish a system for testing every single marine product at all 43 major consignment sales.

The PPP especially warned against "fake news" that is hurting the fisheries industry and related businesses, including sushi restaurants.

“Despite the scientific argument that the discharged water from the nuclear plant will likely reach our seas four to five years later after circulating in the Pacific Ocean, phenomena are arising such as the hoarding of salts driven by fear caused by rumors,” PPP leader Kim said.

He likened the recent spread of fear regarding radioactive sea products to the 2008 hysteria surrounding Mad Cow Disease.

"Back then, there were rumors of people suffering holes in their brains from eating beef imported from the U.S., and people argued that they would rather drink cyanide than eat American beef," Kim said. "Yet I haven't heard of anyone taking cyanide or having holes in their brains."

He argued that the rumors only affected the livelihoods of average Koreans and stoked unneeded divisions.

“It only triggered unnecessary anti-American sentiment,” Kim said. “Yet not a single person took responsibility.”

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]