Sex Offenders Against Minors Face 20-Year Public Office Ban

Legislative Notice for Amendment of the Local Public Officials Act

Even if a sex crime is committed against a minor, permanently restricting public service appointment is excessive, according to the Constitutional Court's decision. Therefore, from now on, public service appointments will be restricted for 20 years in cases of sex crimes against minors.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 25th that it will publicly notify the amendment to the "Local Public Officials Act," which includes this content, from the 26th until November 6th.

First, to secure public trust in public service and reflect the intent of the Constitutional Court's decision, the appointment of public officials who committed sex crimes against minors will be limited to 20 years. Previously, the Constitutional Court ruled the permanent restriction on public service appointments under the "Local Public Officials Act" for those sentenced to imprisonment or treatment custody for sex crimes against minors as unconstitutional.

Additionally, a legal basis will be newly established to prepare preferential personnel measures for public officials raising multiple children. Previously, preferential treatment in personnel matters was only possible for cases requiring policy consideration, such as persons with disabilities, science and engineering majors, and low-income groups.

Along with this, the restriction period for filling vacancies caused by suspension from duty will also be shortened. Under the current law, when a public official is suspended from duty due to criminal indictment or investigation for serious misconduct, the vacancy could only be filled after six months. Going forward, to prevent prolonged work gaps caused by suspension, the restriction period for filling vacancies will be reduced to three months.

Regulations for the smooth operation of disciplinary procedures in each institution will also be revised. The head of the institution with the right to request disciplinary deliberation will be legally authorized to directly request and receive investigation records related to disciplinary reasons from investigative agencies.

Vice Minister Ko Gi-dong stated, “The competitiveness of local governments, the main actors of the local era, is a measure of the government's competitiveness,” and added, “We will continue to support strengthening the capabilities of local governments by improving the local public official personnel system to enhance the autonomy and responsibility of local governments so that regions themselves can create a better local era.”

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