Ministry of Justice: "Jo Doo-sun, Only One Outing After Release... Supervised 120 Times Per Month on Average"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Ministry of Justice announced that Jo Doo-soon, a child sex offender who was released last December, has gone outside only once so far to purchase daily necessities.

The Ministry of Justice plans to implement alcohol treatment and psychological therapy programs aimed at improving sexual awareness for Jo as soon as the COVID-19 situation calms down.

Kang Ho-seong, Director of the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, stated this during a briefing held at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 3rd.

Additionally, Director Kang explained that the Ministry of Justice has assigned a dedicated one-on-one probation officer to supervise Jo, conducting about 120 monitoring sessions per month on average.

Furthermore, the Ministry reported that it is collaborating with local governments' Safe Return Home services to reduce recidivism rates among released offenders wearing electronic anklets (location tracking electronic devices).

Starting next month, the Ministry of Justice will launch a pilot project linking local governments' Safe Return Home services with the electronic monitoring system in 16 cities in Gyeonggi Province.

The Safe Return Home service is a system that connects local governments' closed-circuit television (CCTV) with smartphone applications. When citizens signal danger through the app, the local government's CCTV center monitors the route home, and related agencies such as the police respond to the threat.

When linked with the electronic monitoring system, the location information of citizens on their way home is automatically transmitted to the location tracking control center. The control center analyzes whether an electronically monitored individual is within 20 meters and dispatches probation officers or police accordingly.

This system helps not only in crime prevention but also in the swift apprehension of offenders and prevention of secondary damage if a crime occurs.

Moreover, from the 9th of next month, the Ministry of Justice will introduce a special judicial police system for electronic monitoring duties. Public officials at probation offices will investigate cases such as tampering with electronic anklets or violations of outing restrictions.

In addition, the Ministry is developing an alcohol sensing electronic device to verify real-time alcohol consumption for electronically monitored individuals subject to drinking restrictions.

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