After Release, Jo Doo-soon Said He Would Live at His Ansan Home... 200 Million Won of Tax Money Spent on Surveillance

Total Budget of 223.9 Million KRW Used Over the Past 4 Months
One-on-One Dedicated Probation, Crime Prevention Team On-Site Patrols
Jo Doo-sun Stated Before Release Last Year, "I Will Live at Home"
Victim's Family Says, "Sorry as Parents... Will Leave Ansan"

The appearance of Jo Doo-soon, a child sex offender, after completing his sentence and being released. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It is expected to cause a stir as it has been revealed that over 200 million KRW of public funds were spent over the past four months to monitor child sex offender Jo Doo-soon (68). Jo Doo-soon, who was released at the end of last year after serving his full sentence, is currently residing at his home in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

According to multiple media reports on the 20th, the total budget used by the Ministry of Justice and Ansan City to monitor and manage Jo Doo-soon over the past four months amounts to 223.9 million KRW.

The Ministry of Justice spent 26.5 million KRW in personnel expenses for one staff member who has been exclusively responsible for the 1:1 probation supervision of Jo Doo-soon until last month. During the same period, Ansan City spent 147.5 million KRW on personnel costs for 12 on-site police officers and 49.9 million KRW on the installation of two guard posts and auxiliary facilities.

The Ministry of Justice currently implements a 1:1 dedicated system where one probation officer is assigned to Jo Doo-soon. This officer closely monitors Jo Doo-soon and is responsible for visiting and interviewing him at his residence more than three times daily.

Additionally, a crime prevention team composed of two-person units patrols the area regularly to check for any unusual occurrences around Jo Doo-soon. The cost exceeding 200 million KRW was spent on these monitoring and management activities related to Jo Doo-soon.

About two months before Jo Doo-soon's release, last October, officials were installing security closed-circuit television (CCTV) in an alleyway in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, Jo Doo-soon was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being indicted for sexually assaulting an elementary school student at a church in Danwon-gu, Ansan, in December 2008, causing permanent disability. He was released after serving his full sentence on December 12 last year.

In July of the same year, during a meeting with psychological counselors at the Ansan Probation Office, he reportedly said, "After release, I will return to Ansan where I originally lived and live without causing trouble."

Upon learning this, the victim's family expressed that the victim is feeling anxious and appealed that they would leave Ansan to avoid Jo Doo-soon.

At the time, the victim's family said in an interview with JTBC's "Newsroom," "Our child burst into tears after 12 years," and lamented, "If (Jo Doo-soon) is truly remorseful and sane, he would never dare to come near the victim."

They also stated, "As parents who cannot protect (our child), we have nothing to say. We are sorry," and announced their decision to move.

The official vehicle carrying child sex offender Jo Doo-soon, who was released after serving his sentence, was blocked by some citizens and YouTubers while leaving the Ministry of Justice Ansan Probation Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of December 12 last year. / Photo by Yonhap News

At that time, Ansan Mayor Yoon Hwa-seop proposed the so-called "Jo Doo-soon Isolation Act." The core of this bill was to isolate and detain Jo Doo-soon in a separate facility after his release. Regarding this, Mayor Yoon posted a petition on the Blue House's National Petition platform. However, the petition ended with 119,137 signatures, about half of the 200,000 signatures required for an official Blue House response.

When Jo Doo-soon was released after completing his sentence, some citizens and YouTubers held rallies in front of the prison. Some YouTubers were investigated by the police for climbing onto and damaging the roof of the vehicle transporting Jo Doo-soon from the prison to his home in Ansan.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice, which supervises Jo Doo-soon, plans to implement treatment programs including alcohol therapy and sexual awareness improvement.

Kang Hoseong, Director of the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Justice, stated at a briefing on the 3rd, "Jo Doo-soon must notify and be accompanied by a probation officer when going out," adding, "Since his release, he has only gone out once to purchase daily necessities."

He continued, "There are about 120 supervisory activities per month on average, including 20 face-to-face guidance sessions, 100 behavioral observations, and 4 weekly life plan checks," and said, "As the COVID-19 situation improves, psychological treatment programs such as sexual awareness improvement and alcohol therapy for Jo Doo-soon will be conducted."

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