Prosecutors seek first court order for 'chemical castration' on pedophile

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted a 30-year-old pedophile and requested the court to issue an order that he be subject to hormonal treatment that suppresses sexual impulses if he is convicted.

The request marks the first time prosecutors have sought the measure since a bill passed in July of last year that allows hormonal treatment, or "chemical castration," for convicted child molesters over 19 years of age who are at risk of repeating their crimes against minors under the age of 16.

The suspect, only known by his surname Pyo, is accused of having sex with five teenagers whom he met through a smartphone chat service between November 2011 and April 2012, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. Pyo then threatened to circulate online video footage of them engaged in sexual acts and nude photos of the minors, and also raped them by threatening them with deadly weapons.

Pyo said he has difficulty controlling sexual impulses, prosecutors said. He was diagnosed with sexual desire disorder upon a medical examination.

If the court accepts the prosecution's request, Pyo will be subject to hormonal treatment for up to 15 years upon his release from prison.

In May, a 45-year-old child sex offender, known only as Park, was ordered to receive drug treatment to suppress his sex drive, but the order was issued by the Justice Ministry's Forensic Psychiatry Deliberation Committee and the length of treatment was just three years.

South Korea was the first country in Asia to adopt this type of treatment, although Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the U.S. state of California have used it for years.

In the wake of recent brutal sexual offenses against children, including a 10-year-old girl who was killed and raped by a convicted sex offender, the government has vowed to root out sex-related crimes and toughen punishment against repeat offenders.

"We will put utmost efforts to stop recurrence of sexual crimes against minors, not just by punishing offenders but by actively seeking hormonal treatments against them," a prosecution official said. (Yonhap News)