Court Sentences Serial Child Sex Offender Kim Geun-sik to 3 More Years in Prison

2 Years Imprisonment for Child Molestation Charges
1 Year for Obstruction of Official Duties and Habitual Assault
Prosecutor's Request for Sexual Impulse Drug Treatment Denied

The court has once again sentenced Kim Geun-sik, a child sex offender who was re-arrested a day before his release after being exposed for forcibly molesting a child 17 years ago.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Song In-kyung) sentenced Kim Geun-sik, who was detained and prosecuted on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (rape of a minor under 13), to two years in prison on the 31st. He was also ordered to wear an electronic location tracking device (electronic anklet) for 10 years and complete 200 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. However, the court did not accept the prosecution's request for chemical castration (medication for sexual impulse control).

Separately from the sex crime case, the court sentenced Kim Geun-sik to one year in prison for assaulting prison officers at Haenam Prison in Jeollanam-do in December 2019 and July 2021 (obstruction of official duties), as well as for repeatedly assaulting fellow inmates from 2017 to 2019 (habitual assault).

Regarding the charge of forcibly molesting a child, the court pointed out, "The fact that the defendant forcibly took the victim, who was under 13 years old at the time, and molested them is a serious offense considering the victim's age and the method of the crime." It added, "The blameworthiness is high as the crime targeted children and adolescents with weak sexual self-determination rights." However, the court explained the sentencing rationale by stating, "The defendant confessed to this crime while being investigated for other sex crimes, and if sentenced, the sentences could have been combined with those for other cases."

As for the rejection of chemical castration, the court stated, "Since the medication that causes permanent physical effects is required after the prison sentence is completed, and because it is difficult to conclude that there is a need for medication due to concerns about recidivism." The fact that Kim Geun-sik served 15 years in prison for other sex crimes was also a basis for this judgment. Regarding the charges of obstruction of official duties and habitual assault, the court noted, "Although the nature of the crimes is serious, some victims do not wish for punishment against the defendant."

Previously, Kim Geun-sik was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting 11 minors in the Seoul metropolitan area from May to September 2006 and was scheduled to be released on October 17. However, he was re-arrested a day before his full release due to newly revealed charges of forcibly molesting a child in the Incheon area 16 years ago. However, after reviewing police reports filed by the victim's guardian at the time, it was confirmed that Kim Geun-sik was not the perpetrator in that child molestation case that led to his re-arrest.

Subsequently, Kim Geun-sik was identified as a suspect in an unsolved forced molestation case that occurred near an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province in September 2006, and was eventually detained and prosecuted last November, undergoing trial since then. In the prosecution's closing arguments, they requested a 10-year prison sentence for Kim Geun-sik, along with 10 years of chemical castration, 10 years of wearing an electronic location tracking device (electronic anklet), and completion of a sexual violence treatment program.