Information on 11,000 sex offenders to be released

The government is moving to disclose the personal information of about 11,000 people convicted of sex crimes against adults since April 2008.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday it would request local courts to issue related publication orders in line with a recently toughened law to curb sex offenses.

After court approval, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will make offenders’ names, resident registration numbers, addresses, occupations and workplaces available on a specialized Internet site run by the government.

The information will also be sent to local residents by mail and posted on the bulletins of neighborhood community centers for 30 days.

“Naming and shaming” was first introduced in 2010 for sexual offenders against children. The rule was made applicable retrospectively in August that year.

The government began to expand the disclosure rule to all sex criminals not only against children but also against adults in 2011 after a series of heinous cases involving rape, kidnapping and even murder.

In June this year, the rule was revised to be applicable to past convicts.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)