The deaths of a 10-year-old elementary school girl in Tongyeong of South Gyeongsang Province and a tourist in Jeju by possible sex offenders are triggering public anger toward the lack of a state monitoring system on perpetrators and prevention measures.
Experts urge the government to make easier and wider access to information about sex offenders and closer management for isolated and underprivileged children who are most likely to become targets of molestation and other crimes.
Such calls exploded after 45-year-old Kim Jeom-deok of Tongyeong was arrested Sunday for murdering 10-year-old Han Ah-reum, an elementary school student who lived nearby.
The girl was reported missing on July 16 and her body was found on a mountain 10 kilometers away from her house on Sunday.
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Kim Jeom-deok, the prime suspect in the murder of Han Ah-reum, a 10-year-old girl in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, enters the local police station after being arrested on Tuesday. Han’s body was found on Sunday, six days after she was reported missing. (Yonhap News) |
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The prime suspect for the murder of a female tourist on Jeju Island is moved after giving testimony at Jeju Police Station on Tuesday. He was arrested on Monday, 12 days after the victim was reported missing.(Yonhap News) |
Kim was jailed for four years for attempting to rape then hurt a 62-year-old woman seven years ago. The police said they could not verify if Han was raped due to severe decomposition in the hot weather.
Critics claim that had there been several precautionary measures taken, such tragedies could have been prevented.
They note that the current disclosure of personal information about sex offenders does not cover the majority of sexual perpetrators ought to be monitored by local communities.
Currently a total of 1,700 sex offenders are publicly listed for local crime watch. Their names, ages, addresses, vehicle plates numbers and other details are mailed to nearby households with members under 19 years old and are searchable at local police stations.
However, only 8.5 percent of the total 20,000 convicted perpetrators have been subject to the rule since the disclosure became mandatory for those convicted after April 2011. Electronic anklets adjusted to those convicted after 2008 stipulated the criticisms.
“Making such important information easier and wider to the public is crucial in preventing repeated offenses. Also we should tighten our monitoring system on those excluded from the program,” an online critic said.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs is planning to develop a smartphone application program showing information about sex offenders nearby to users, but hasn’t gained approval from the Justice Ministry to share the information and develop further plans.
Kim Hyeong-ryeol, a Justice Ministry official, said that the process is unlikely since revealing the identification of a person, even if the person is a sex offender, infringes upon one’s basic rights.
“We understand the public antipathy toward this matter but we need more legal discussion, review, agreements and legal procedures,” he was quoted as saying to the JoongAng Ilbo.
The National Police Agency on Tuesday announced that it will conduct a special inspection on about 20,000 sex offenders on their list. The police also decided to form a special investigation unit for homicides cases at the initial reporting stage.
The officers will also increase patrols in popular tourist areas. The plan came after a female traveler visiting the Jeju Olle trails was resident who tried to keep her from calling the police when he was caught urinating on one of the trails earlier this month.
“If there are more things that police can do, we will review them and put them into action,” Kim Ki-yong, commissioner-general of the National Police Agency, said on Monday.
Some experts ask for local communities to set up a network to look after children outside school campuses to better protect them.
They claim that Han’s being left alone at home most of the time ― her father left early in the morning and returned late at night ― may have contributed to the tragedy. According to reports, children who fend for themselves are more vulneratle.
“In many Western societies, parents or guardians pick up their children from school. Local communities should work on protecting children together from various risks,” said Baek Mi-sun, head of the Korean Sexual Violence Relief Center.
“The job is a bit too large for local communities to handle all the way through. We need government support,” she added.
By Bae Ji-sook (
baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
