[Exclusive] Worse than Jo Doo-sun... Personal Information Not Disclosed Due to Loose Legal Loopholes

Sexual Violence from July 2006 to February 2007
Victims Aged 7 to 25
Excluded from Public Disclosure for Being First Offenders
Amendment Bill Proposed... Sleeping for 2 Years

▲July 19, 2006: Followed and sexually molested a 7-year-old girl returning home

▲January 2, 2007: Broke into the residence of a 17-year-old female student, threatened her, and sexually assaulted her

▲January 9, 2007: Followed a 25-year-old woman returning home and attacked her with a weapon at her residence, but failed to commit sexual assault due to her resistance

▲January 12, 2007: Broke into the residence of a 16-year-old female student, threatened her, and sexually assaulted her

▲January 14, 2007: Pretended to be a delivery worker, broke into a residence, and attempted to sexually assault a 13-year-old girl

▲January 24, 2007: Followed and attempted to sexually assault a 9-year-old girl returning home

▲February 1, 2007: Followed and sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl returning home; about two hours later, broke into the residence again to commit another sexual assault

Lee (49), who started by sexually molesting a 7-year-old girl in Cheongju, Chungbuk in 2006 and eventually sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl, was sentenced to 15 years in October 2007 and was released earlier this year. However, he does not appear in the 'Sex Offender Notification e' system. It is currently unknown where he lives or what he is doing.

Lee’s absence from the Sex Offender Notification e is due to him being a first-time offender. At the time he committed the crimes, only repeat offenders?those who had received prison sentences twice or more for sexual crimes against children and adolescents?were subject to public disclosure. The law requiring disclosure of first-time offenders’ information was amended in August 2007 and came into effect on February 3, 2008. Although Lee sexually assaulted seven victims including children, he avoided disclosure by a matter of months as a first-time offender.

There was also concern about Lee’s risk of reoffending. His psychopathy test (PCL-R) score was reportedly 32 out of 40. Jo Doo-soon, who committed a child sex crime, scored 29 on the same test. The court that sentenced Lee stated, “Considering that he attempted to reoffend against the same victim and his current age, the risk of repeating the same crime appears to be very high.”

Lee showed no remorse even in court. When sentenced to 15 years in the first trial, he appealed claiming the crime was due to mental illness, showing no sign of repentance. The court at the time said, “The defendant (Lee) does not show a genuine attitude of remorse for his wrongdoing. Because of the defendant, the victims and their families have suffered physical and mental pain that is difficult to describe, yet no measures have been taken to restore the victims’ damages.”

Since 2000, bills to disclose personal information of sex offenders against children and adolescents proposed... no discussion for over a year

Currently, there is a bill in the National Assembly to allow disclosure of such sex offenders’ personal information. Choi Hye-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed an amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse in December 2020, stating that “many sex offenders are not subject to the current disclosure and notification system because they are first-time offenders.”

This bill mandates disclosure of personal information for all individuals convicted of sexual crimes against children under 13 and adolescents since July 1, 2000, regardless of the number of offenses. However, the bill has been dormant in the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee for nearly two years. Discussions have also been stalled since February last year.

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