Implemented for the first time in July 2011... Constitutional Court Also Ruled Constitutional
First Case Involved Escaped Sexual Offender Kim Seonyong
Interest in chemical castration has increased as the prosecution's request for chemical castration treatment for sexual impulse in child sex offender Kim Geun-sik was dismissed on the 31st.
The Criminal Division 1 of the Anyang Branch of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Song In-kyung) sentenced Kim Geun-sik, who was indicted and detained on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (rape of minors 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 to complete 200 hours of a sexual violence treatment program.
Separately from the sex crime case, the court sentenced Kim Geun-sik to one year in prison for charges of 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).
Kim Geun-sik had previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting 11 minors in the Seoul metropolitan area from May to September 2006 and served his sentence. Although he was due for release in October last year, he was re-arrested after being identified as a suspect in another child molestation case.
The prosecution requested chemical castration for 10 years citing concerns about recidivism, but the court did not recognize the necessity. The court reasoned that the crime occurred 16 years ago, Kim Geun-sik has been regularly incarcerated, and there is a risk of permanent disability after drug treatment, making it difficult to sufficiently acknowledge the likelihood of reoffending based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution.
Calls for the necessity of chemical castration for Kim Geun-sik have been made several times. Several experts, including former Democratic Party lawmaker and profiler Pyo Chang-won and Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University's Department of Criminal Psychology, expressed concerns about Kim Geun-sik's potential for reoffending. The sexual impulse drug treatment evaluation requested by the prosecution as evidence in court also concluded that drug treatment was necessary for Kim Geun-sik.
The chemical castration system was first introduced in the United States in 1996 and is implemented in several countries including Denmark and Sweden. It suppresses sexual impulses by administering gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists (GnRH), which are also used in the treatment of male prostate cancer. During the designated period, patients receive drug treatment and hormone level tests once every 1 to 3 months.
In South Korea, the system was introduced with the enactment of the "Act on Chemical Treatment of Sexual Impulse in Sexual Offenders" in June 2010 and has been in effect since July of the following year. Early on, there was controversy over infringement of basic rights because chemical castration was forcibly administered without the individual's consent. However, in December 2015, the Constitutional Court ruled the system constitutional, allowing its enforcement to begin. The court recognized that the system has a legitimate legislative purpose in preventing recidivism and promoting the social reintegration of sex offenders, and that hormone recovery is always possible, thus acknowledging the legitimacy of the means.
The first person to undergo chemical castration in South Korea was Kim Seon-yong, who committed a sexual assault after escaping from a university hospital during treatment at a medical security facility. Kim Seon-yong was serving a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault and was confined at the Gongju Medical Security Center (now the National Forensic Hospital). In August 2015, while hospitalized for sudden hearing loss treatment, Kim Seon-yong escaped unnoticed by the medical security center staff and committed another sex crime during that period. Consequently, the court sentenced Kim Seon-yong to 17 years in prison, 7 years of chemical castration, and 80 hours of sexual violence treatment program attendance.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
