[Exclusive] "We Support Jodusun" Why Do 'Support Cafes' for Horrific Criminals Appear? [Han Seunggon's Incident Notebook]

A Support Cafe for Jo Doo-soon, Convicted of Sexually Assaulting an 8-Year-Old Girl, Emerges
Previously, a Human Rights Protection Cafe for Jo Doo-soon Also Created
Past Serial Killer Kang Ho-soon Cafe Opened... Criticism of Increasing Members to Resell
Experts: "Participation in Jo Doo-soon Issue Aimed at Feeling One's Own Presence"

An online cafe established with the purpose of supporting Jo Doo-soon (68), a child sex offender. Photo by Han Seung-gon hsg@asiae.co.kr.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] An online cafe supporting Jo Doo-soon (68), who was sentenced to 12 years in prison with a reduced sentence due to intoxication for brutally sexually assaulting an 8-year-old elementary school student he kidnapped to a bathroom while she was going to school, and was released after serving his full term 12 days ago, has been created, causing public outrage.

In the past, cafes supporting criminals who committed horrific crimes have also been created. In February 2009, a fan cafe supporting serial killer Kang Ho-soon, who was sentenced to death for abducting, murdering, mutilating, and abandoning the bodies of women in the southwestern Gyeonggi region, was created, sparking social controversy.

Separately, cafes defending criminals out of personal curiosity have been created, drawing criticism. Experts analyze that the commonality among operators of these criminal-supporting cafes is anonymity, and that they seek a sense of social presence through this anonymity.

Recently, a cafe supporting Jo Doo-soon was created on a portal site. The cafe was established on the 13th, the day after Jo Doo-soon's release. The operator introduced the purpose of the cafe as "a fan cafe supporting Jo Doo-soon's social adaptation after he has paid for his crime."

Search keywords for the cafe included 'Moon Jae-in', 'Roh Moo-hyun', and 'Jeolla-do'. As of 3 p.m. on the 14th, there were only three posts in total. The total number of visitors was 20. The cafe's theme is 'Domestic Actors'.

Child sex offender Jo Doo-soon, who was released after serving his sentence, is entering the Ansan Probation Center of the Ministry of Justice in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 12th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Looking at the cafe's introduction and other details, it is presumed that the operator created the cafe more as a kind of prank rather than genuinely supporting Jo Doo-soon.

However, there is an outpouring of criticism for creating a cafe themed around an actual child sex offender. Lee, a university student in his 20s, said, "If this is not a joke, it is a big problem, and even if it is a joke, it is still a problem," adding, "It is a clear secondary victimization of the victim."

Kim, a company employee in his 30s, said, "I hope the victim's side takes legal action," and pointed out, "The person who created the cafe probably did so without much thought, but this is a different situation." He continued, "I hope they close the cafe themselves even now."

Park, a worker in his 40s, said, "Jo Doo-soon is a criminal who committed a horrific crime and shows no remorse," and criticized, "I don't understand why anyone would support him." He added, "If you want to support him so much, you should meet Jo Doo-soon in person and support him. I hope you spend your life with him."

An online cafe created with the purpose of protecting the human rights of Jo Doo-soon. The cafe was established in 2009. Photo by Han Seung-gon hsg@asiae.co.kr.

This is not the first time a cafe supporting Jo Doo-soon has been created. On October 12, 2009, an online cafe named 'Cafe for the Human Rights of Sex Offenders' was created on a portal site.

At that time, the operator A posted that "the public's biased view of the Jo Doo-soon case is regrettable," and argued that "human rights apply to everyone. The legal rights of sex offenders should also be respected."

Some have pointed out that the background of creating such cafes is to attract people's attention, rapidly increase membership, and then resell the cafes illegally for financial gain. They claim that these cafes support criminals who committed horrific crimes to attract netizens' attention for profit.

Experts analyze that people who want to assert their presence in society created these cafes through the 'Jo Doo-soon support act.'

Professor Oh Yoon-sung of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University said, "(People who create criminal-supporting cafes) may have the purpose of participating in the social issue of Jo Doo-soon," adding, "However, they do not reveal their real names. The same applies to operators of other criminal cafes such as Yoo Young-chul and Kang Ho-soon."

Professor Oh further explained, "It seems that people who want to feel some presence by participating in situations that attract great social attention are engaging in such behavior."

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