Refusal of Sexual Dysfunction Drug Treatment... Supreme Court: "Must Provide Opportunity for Reconsideration"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that sex offenders who were sentenced to imprisonment for refusing drug treatment should be given another chance to have their risk of reoffending reassessed and be exempted from drug treatment execution.

On the 12th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheolsang) announced that it overturned the original sentence of 2 years imprisonment against Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Act on the Treatment of Sexual Impulses of Sex Offenders, and remanded the case to the Daejeon District Court.

Mr. A was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and ordered to undergo drug treatment for sexual impulses for one year in April 2014, after being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in 2013. Despite being required to comply with the probation officer's instructions during the treatment period, Mr. A was prosecuted for violating the compliance requirements in May 2019 by failing to follow the probation officer's orders during the treatment period.

The first and second trials judged that Mr. A violated the compliance requirements without justifiable reasons and sentenced him to 2 years imprisonment. However, Mr. A appealed, arguing that his refusal to undergo drug treatment was justified because he did not have the opportunity to apply for exemption from drug treatment execution, which was implemented in January 2018.

The Supreme Court accepted Mr. A's appeal. The Court reasoned that although the likelihood of committing the crime was high at the time of sentencing, it is necessary to reassess whether that risk remains at the time when drug treatment should be administered after completing the sentence. Since a considerable amount of time has passed since the sexual offense, the risk of reoffending should be re-evaluated. The court stated, "It was necessary to make a new judgment regarding the necessity of forcibly administering treatment considering Mr. A's psychological state."

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