Ministry of Justice Struggles to Devise Measures for Managing Jo Doo-sun

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice, police, lawmakers, and local governments are discussing various measures to manage Jo Doo-soon, who is scheduled to be released on December 13. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has instructed the Ministry of Justice to devise countermeasures, while the victim's father has appealed to the government to "keep the promise made 11 years ago to permanently isolate him."

First, the Ministry of Justice announced that it will firmly implement practical measures, including one-on-one probation and 24-hour location tracking. It also added that if Jo Doo-soon violates post-release compliance requirements, he will be immediately detained and investigated.

The police have formed a special response task force and plan to strengthen patrols during school commuting hours. In particular, a 1 km radius around a certain location in Ansan City, where Jo Doo-soon is expected to reside after release, will be designated as a women’s safety zone, with concentrated deployment of patrol personnel and security facilities such as guard posts. The number of security closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) in this area will also be increased, with 71 additional units installed at 23 locations. Furthermore, the police plan to conduct special crime prevention activities by mobilizing all available police personnel, including local police and mobile patrol units, to patrol frequently.

However, isolation in protective custody facilities is not possible. Earlier, Ansan Mayor Yoon Hwa-seop sent a letter to Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae urgently requesting the enactment of a 'Protective Custody Act' related to sex offenders. In response, the Ministry of Justice stated, "The existing Protective Custody Act bill submitted to the National Assembly does not have retroactive provisions," and "Even based on that bill, it cannot be applied retroactively to people like Jo Doo-soon who committed crimes in the past."

It further emphasized, "The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court have consistently ruled that even security measures that deprive physical freedom should apply the law in effect at the time of the act, according to the principle of non-retroactivity of punishment."

According to the Ministry of Justice, the 'Protective Custody Act,' which would isolate child sex offenders for a certain period after release and place them under the management and supervision of protective custody facilities, was first submitted as a government bill on April 9, 2015, during the 19th National Assembly but was discarded due to controversy over human rights violations and the expiration of the legislative term. The Judiciary Committee's review report at the time stated, "In order to decide whether to introduce the system, in-depth discussions on pros and cons must precede, and the considerable resources required for the installation and management of protective custody facilities must also be considered."

The so-called 'chemical castration' proposed by some is also not applicable to Jo Doo-soon. Although Jo Doo-soon was sentenced to 12 years in prison for rape and injury in September 2009, the 'Act on the Treatment of Sexual Impulses of Sexual Offenders by Medication' was enacted in July 2011. He has not received a separate treatment detention order, so disposition through the treatment detention review committee is also impossible.

However, considering that Jo Doo-soon committed most of his past crimes while intoxicated, the Ministry of Justice plans to apply to the court for additional special compliance requirements, including a ban on drinking above a certain amount, prohibition of access to child protection facilities, and restrictions on outings. A Ministry of Justice official said, "We are preparing in our own way at the Ministry of Justice ahead of Jo Doo-soon's release," and added, "We will continue to consider various methods to ensure safety not only for Ansan residents but for the entire nation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.