Why one man's move is shaking Korea: Child rapist’s relocation sparks controversy, fear

Cho Doo-soon, notorious for one of the most shocking crimes in South Korean history, has once again sparked public outrage and concern after his recent move to a new residence.

Cho, who was released from prison in December 2020 after serving 12 years for raping an 8-year-old girl, has relocated from his previous home in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, to a nearby neighborhood. His move to a new residence, located just 2 kilometers away from his previous home, has stoked fears and controversy among nearby residents once again.

Since Cho's release four years ago, his presence in Ansan has been a source of anxiety, leading to angry demonstrations and anonymous death threats. Residents have expressed their fears of his recidivism, given Cho's brutal criminal history. Despite measures in place to monitor him, many felt uneasy about having a convicted child rapist living nearby, especially with families and children in the vicinity.

Police installed a monitoring system at his home and added 35 surveillance cameras, brighter streetlights and police booths in Cho’s neighborhood to both monitor his movements and deter people who have threatened his safety.

As Cho has reportedly moved into a house just a five-minute walk from an elementary school and day care center, outrage is mounting. Expanding the distance to 1.5 kilometers, there are about 10 elementary, middle and high schools.

Regarding an infamous child rapist residing near schools, a new report on Wednesday showed that over half of the nation's day care centers, kindergartens, and elementary, middle and high schools have sex offenders living within a one-kilometer radius.

According to the report submitted by Rep. Paik Seung-ah, 59 percent of day care centers, 51 percent of kindergartens, 45 percent of elementary schools, 48 percent of middle schools, and 53 percent of high schools were exposed to the possibility of running into sex offenders in the neighborhood.

By location, Seoul showed the highest rate with 83 percent of day cares in the area being located within a kilometer of the predator's home, calling for special attention and support from law enforcement authorities for students' safety.

The government here has implemented a range of measures to keep track of released sex offenders and alert communities. These include providing information about offenders’ residences and criminal records and allowing concerned parties to check how many sex offenders live in their neighborhoods. In Cho’s case, this public access to information has allowed his neighbors to remain aware of his location at all times, but that knowledge alone has done little to ease their concerns.

Police authorities have also ramped up their response to Cho’s relocation. Patrols in the vicinity of his new residence have been strengthened, with a full-time patrol car deployed near his home and additional officers assigned to the area.

However, the special security center that was previously stationed near his old residence has yet to find a new location in his new neighborhood, raising questions about efficiency in building security, as the Justice Ministry, police and local government must cooperate in advance to determine the proper location.

Cho was released from prison in December 2020 after serving 12 years for raping an 8-year-old girl in 2008. The convict, then 57, violently raped the child in a church restroom in Ansan after kidnapping her while she was on her way to school. The victim was left with injuries so severe that they resulted in permanent internal damage.