Analysis of Sex Offenders Over 20 Years: "Subway Hidden Camera Offenders Return to the Subway"

Ministry of Justice Publishes '2020 Sexual Crime White Paper'
36.5% of Sexual Crime Recidivists Reoffend at the Same Location... 'Illegal Filming' Recidivism Rate Also 75%

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Sexual offenders who secretly film illegal hidden cameras tend to commit the same crime again. Those who commit sexual crimes on the subway are highly likely to reappear on the subway and commit the same offense. The most dangerous time is during commuting hours, but be especially cautious of intoxicated individuals after 3 a.m.

The Ministry of Justice analyzed the patterns of all sexual crimes that occurred over the past 20 years and found this "message." The most notable aspect is the recidivism pattern of sexual offenders. They repeated the methods by which they were caught once before.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Justice released the "2020 Sexual Crime White Paper," which contains the characteristics of 74,956 sexual offenders and 2,901 repeat offenders accumulated over more than 20 years since the introduction of the disclosure system for sexual buyers targeting minors in July 2000. This is the first time that statistics accumulated over 20 years on sexual offenders have been publicly analyzed.

According to the white paper, among the 2,901 repeat sexual offenders, 1,058 (36.5%) chose the same location for their repeat offense as their first crime. Among those who committed sexual crimes on subways or trains, 62.5% used the same location for their repeat offense. Public bathhouses, jjimjilbangs, and saunas accounted for 60.9%, buses 53.1%, public restrooms 44.8%, and the offender’s residence 37.2%, in that order.

A Ministry of Justice official stated, "Since many sexual offenders commit repeat offenses using similar methods, the sexual offender management system, which registers, discloses, and notifies information about sexual offenders, will be an effective means of crime prevention." He added, "The Ministry of Justice will actively utilize the analysis results of sexual crimes to create a country where all citizens can live safely without fear of crime."

The recidivism rate by method was highest for "filming using cameras or similar devices." Among those who committed sexual crimes using this method, 75.0% repeated the same method. Forced molestation was 70.3%, and molestation in crowded public places was 61.4%, showing a high match rate between first and second registered offenses compared to other crimes.

The time of repeat offenses was most frequent between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., accounting for 28.1%. Next was between 9 p.m. and midnight, when company dinners and gatherings occur, at 24.6%, followed by the commuting hours from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at 24.1%. Offenders in their 30s accounted for 39.0%, and those in their 20s made up 27.0%, with people in their 20s and 30s comprising 66% of the total. Among their punishments, fines were the most common at 56.5%. Probation accounted for 30.3%, and imprisonment was about 8.2%.

The Ministry of Justice analyzed that sexual crimes mainly occurring in public places such as transportation and jjimjilbangs are related to the widespread use of digital devices like smartphones. In fact, the number of "filming using cameras or similar devices" crimes increased more than fivefold from 412 cases in 2013 to 2,388 cases in 2018 over five years.

In the past five years, the average annual number of newly registered individuals subject to personal information registration was about 12,755. The cumulative number of registered individuals reached 82,647 as of the end of last year, and the Ministry of Justice expects the number of registered individuals to exceed 100,000 within this year. The personal information registration system is a system in which the state registers and manages the personal information of sexual offenders whose guilty verdicts have been finalized. As of 2018, the types of crimes for registered individuals were forced molestation at 44.1%, rape and related crimes at 30.5%, and filming using cameras or similar devices at 12.4%. Sexual crimes accounted for about 87% of all registered cases.