Content About Housing Heinous Sex Offenders in Facilities After Release
The government has launched efforts to implement a 'Korean-style Jessica Law' that requires heinous sex offenders to live only in designated facilities even after their release. While there are criticisms within the Democratic Party that proper consultations were not held, Park Beom-gye, a Democratic Party lawmaker who opposed the law during his tenure as Minister of Justice, also expressed that he "agrees with the general intent." However, due to constitutional controversy and divided opinions among experts, there is a possibility that the bill may face difficulties passing through the National Assembly.
On the 26th, Park said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Social awareness has changed, and because the social risk of sex offenders, especially child sex offenders, is significant, I think it is impossible to oppose this," adding, "I agree with the broad intent."
Earlier, the Ministry of Justice announced the legislative notice of the 'Act on Residence Restrictions for High-Risk Sex Offenders' and the amendment to the 'Act on Drug Treatment for Sexual Impulse of Sex Offenders.' This is to prevent the public from living in fear every time a high-risk sex offender is released.
Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is responding at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Park, who served as Minister of Justice during the Moon Jae-in administration, had expressed opposition to similar legislation at that time. However, he now believes the situation has changed. He said, "Although it has been only two years, there have been changes in awareness. There is heightened vigilance toward serious crimes, especially impulsive crimes, and the government now has the will to push this forward."
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin previously claimed on Channel A that "If this is such an important issue, there should have been consultations with the ruling party, but there were none. Minister Han Dong-hoon just made a show of it," sparking controversy. However, the Ministry of Justice clarified that on the 18th, they explained the bills to Yoo Ui-dong, the ruling party's policy committee chairman, Kim Do-eup, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and Jeong Jeom-sik, the committee's whip from the People Power Party.
Among experts, some argue that the introduction of the Korean-style Jessica Law could more effectively prevent recidivism, but others point out potential constitutional issues related to the human rights of sex offenders. Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "It is actually difficult to guarantee that people like Jo Doo-soon, who was released in 2020, or Kim Geun-sik, who has not yet been released, will not reoffend upon release," adding, "the Korean-style Jessica Law will significantly help in suppressing recidivism."
On the other hand, Kim Dae-geun, a research fellow at the Criminal Law and Policy Research Institute, expressed concerns, saying, "There are aspects that infringe on the fundamental right to change residence, and it revives 'protective custody,' which our Constitutional Court has ruled unconstitutional," adding, "Even though there are already various measures to prevent recidivism under the existing system, introducing this is essentially an excessive restriction on basic rights and violates the principle of proportionality."
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