After Identity Disclosure, Heinous Crimes Down 77% in 10 Years: "Shame Effect" vs "Limited Direct Causality"

Suspect Jeon Juhwan in the 'Sindang Station Stalking Murder' case is being transferred from the Namdaemun Police Station detention center in Jung-gu, Seoul to the prosecution on the 21st. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

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It has been revealed that violent crimes have decreased by about 80% over the past decade. Experts are divided in their interpretations of the effects of the introduction of the public disclosure system for offenders. While some believe it contributed to crime suppression through the effect of shame, others argue that other crime infrastructures such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) had an influence.

According to the National Police Agency on the 11th, the number of crimes such as murder, robbery, and arson last year was recorded at 2,186 cases. This is about a 77% decrease compared to 9,606 cases in 2009, before the public disclosure system was implemented. Crimes targeting human lives have been on a downward trend every year. In 2010, when public disclosure officially began, there were 7,533 cases, followed by 6,271 in 2011, 5,451 in 2012, and 2,961 cases in 2018, bringing the number of murders, robberies, and arsons below 3,000.

There was also a serial killer, Yoo Young-cheol, who murdered several people, but their personal information was not disclosed.
Photo by Yonhap News

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Until the 2004 Milyang middle school girl gang rape case, the police disclosed the identities of criminals. However, after receiving various criticisms such as violations of suspects' human rights, the collapse of the presumption of innocence, and doubts about the crime deterrent effect, the police stopped disclosing offenders' identities. Even though serial killers like Yoo Young-chul, Jung Nam-gyu, and Kang Ho-soon, who murdered multiple people, appeared, their faces were not disclosed due to the police's policy of not revealing identities.

In March 2010, following the Busan middle school girl sexual assault and murder case, the police resumed public disclosure of offenders' identities. This was due to public anger toward the perpetrator Kim Gil-tae and criticism that the police were protecting the suspect's human rights. Since then, the public disclosure of offenders has been stipulated in the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Violent Crimes and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, effective from April 15, 2010. Since the enactment of the law, a total of 41 offenders' identities have been disclosed, starting with Kim Soo-chul, who committed the Yeongdeungpo elementary school student abduction and sexual assault, up to Jeon Ju-hwan in the recent Sindang Station stalking murder case.

A memorial procession of citizens continues on the 19th at the women's restroom of Sindang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, where a 20-year-old station attendant was murdered after stalking. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

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Experts have differing opinions on whether public disclosure is effective in deterring crime. Some argue that other factors, such as the installation of CCTV, may have a greater impact. The number of CCTVs installed in Seoul last year was 73,965, a 26% increase compared to 58,551 units in 2019. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Department of Police Science said, "The reasons for the decrease in violent crimes include population decline and displacement of other crimes. This issue requires rigorous sociological and statistical verification."

Various studies so far have pointed out a lack of correlation between public disclosure and crime deterrence. According to a paper titled "The Effect of Public Disclosure of Sex Offenders on the Prevention of Recidivism of Sexual Offenders," which studied about 19,000 sex offenders, there was no significant correlation between public disclosure and recidivism. While there may be some effect on high-risk sex offenders, it was also pointed out that it could have adverse effects on low-risk sex offenders. A report by a research team including James Prescott, a law professor at Michigan State University, and Jonah Rockoff, a professor at Columbia Business School, analyzing sex offender information disclosure and crime rate trends in 15 U.S. states over the past decade, explained that "disclosing sex offenders' faces and other information discourages rehabilitation efforts and increases recidivism rates."

Nevertheless, there are opinions that public disclosure has a direct or indirect effect on crime deterrence. It is argued that when a person's wrongful behavior causes a social reaction, it can help suppress crime. Offenders feel shame through public disclosure and make efforts to reintegrate into the community. Professor Kim Do-woo of Gyeongnam University's Department of Police Science said, "Since the implementation of the public disclosure system, offenders tend to cooperate more with investigations out of fear that their mistakes will be revealed," adding, "I believe it has the power to prevent crime by inducing shame."

However, experts generally agree that public disclosure addresses the public's frustration with unsatisfactory judicial punishments. Since heinous criminals cannot be adequately punished through the judicial system, such as the abolition of the death penalty, public disclosure serves as a form of retribution to some extent. Professor Oh Yoon-sung of Soonchunhyang University's Department of Police Administration said, "Victims suffer unjustly, but only suspects' human rights are protected, which causes the public to distrust and be angry at our judicial system." He added, "The public disclosure system should be expanded. Citizens have the right to publicly know such crime-related information."

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