Cabinet approves bill to restrict residences of high-risk sex offenders

Social Affairs

Published: 02 Jan. 2024, 18:27

Cabinet approves bill to restrict residences of high-risk sex offenders

Residents of Ansan, Gyeonggi, try to block a government-owned vehicle carrying convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon to his home in the city upon his release from prison on Dec. 12, 2020. [YONHAP]

High-risk sex offenders will be restricted to living in state-run accommodation facilities under a bill approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

The bill, which local media has called the Korean version of Jessica’s Law, was first submitted to the National Assembly by then-Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon in October.

The new law requires sex offenders who are deemed to pose a high risk of reoffending or committing sexual crimes against children to reside in facilities operated by the government upon release from prison.

High-risk sex offenders are those sentenced to 10 years or more for child sexual abuse or those who have been convicted of sexual offenses three times.

Such offenders will be subject to the new residence restrictions under the new law.

A court must approve the restrictions upon request from the prosecution.

The Justice Ministry said in October that 325 offenders met the criteria for such restrictions at the end of 2022.

The Cabinet on Tuesday also approved an amendment to the Castration Act for Persistent Sex Offenders that would mandate prosecutors to request chemical castration for high-risk offenders.

Previously, prosecutors were allowed to decide whether to request chemical castration for high-risk offenders.

In its presentation of the first bill, the government described the law as a Korean version of “Jessica’s Law,” a law in Florida that imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for child sex offenders and lifetime electronic monitoring after their release, as well as a prohibition on living within about 610 meters of schools and parks.

Forty-two U.S. states introduced similar legislation after Florida’s law was passed.

The informal name of the law was derived from Jessica Lunsford, a young Florida girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in February 2005 by John Couey, who had previously been convicted of sexual offenses against children.

The Korean law was introduced amid public outrage regarding child sex offenders’ places of residence upon their release.

The release of the convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon from prison in 2020 was met with angry protests from neighbors opposed to his return.

Cho and his wife have been compelled to relocate on multiple occasions, as residents are notified when an individual convicted of child sexual abuse moves into their neighborhood.

Under Korean law, sexual assaults against children or juveniles are subject to a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

All convicted child sex offenders in Korea are required to wear electronic tracking devices, and their personal information, including their address, is publicly accessible through an online government registry upon their release from jail.

While the new law could, in theory, restrict high-risk offenders from choosing their own place of residence, it remains to be seen whether it will be applied widely given usual sentencing practices.

According to data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, convicted child sex offenders were sentenced to an average of less than four years in prison in 2021.

Sentences for individuals convicted of rape averaged a little over five years.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]