[Exclusive] Despite Tragedy of Two Women Murdered After Electronic Ankle Monitor Cut... Parole Expanded by 30%, Probation Supervision Left Unaddressed

143 Probation Officers Added This Year
82 Assigned to Juvenile Roles
Only 61 Additional Staff for Adult Parole
New Hires Reflect 'Past Demand'
Ministry of Justice: "Did Not Request Staff Based on Parole Expansion"
'Policy First, R

In August 2021, Kang Yunseong, who had 14 prior convictions including sexual offenses, cut off his electronic ankle monitor and murdered two women just three months after being released on parole. At the time, the tragedy was attributed to loopholes in the probation monitoring system caused by a shortage of personnel. However, it has been confirmed that while the government has significantly increased the scale of parole by 30% this year, it has failed to reflect these policy changes in the staffing of personnel dedicated to management and supervision.

According to a comprehensive report by The Asia Business Daily on the 26th, the Ministry of Justice will assign 143 additional probation officers this year, including those dedicated to high-risk electronic monitoring and juvenile probation, to 58 probation offices nationwide. However, of these, 82 people (73 dedicated to juveniles and 9 at juvenile classification centers) are allocated to juvenile-related roles, leaving only 61 additional personnel effectively assigned to adult fields such as parole supervision.

Under the Criminal Act, those released on parole are, in principle, subject to probation. Except for a very small number of cases where probation is deemed ineffective due to severe disability or advanced age, the majority of parolees are subject to probation. Thus, an increase in parolees directly leads to a surge in administrative demand for probation services.

The problem is that even the 61 additional personnel this year reflect 'past demand' and do not take into account the government's current policy of expanding parole. The Ministry of Justice has set its target for parole approvals this year at 1,340 people per month, about 30% higher than last year's monthly average of 1,032, in an effort to alleviate prison overcrowding.

A Ministry of Justice official stated, "We did not request additional personnel based on the anticipated increase in parole numbers," adding, "Because the process for increasing staff involves receiving next year's personnel in advance this year, it was difficult to identify and reflect such issues ahead of time."

This 'policy first, reinforcement later' approach to administration has been criticized for exacerbating work overload in the field. According to the Ministry of Justice, as of last year, each adult probation officer was responsible for an average of 83.9 individuals, a figure that has not improved for years and has already reached a critical threshold. An official at a probation office commented, "As the number of parolees subject to probation increases, so will the number of cases, and it is obvious that the burden on frontline staff will only grow."

While this year's increase in personnel may result in a slight decrease in the number of cases managed per officer, there are growing concerns that the absolute number of individuals requiring supervision will surge, making it virtually impossible to closely monitor high-risk parolees like in the Kang Yunseong case.

Kim Youngsik, a professor of police administration at Soonchunhyang University, pointed out, "Probation after parole is clearly a form of punishment, but if management and supervision are not carried out, it is effectively the same as release. The result is a de facto reduction in sentence due to lax management, which does not align with the public's sense of justice and fails to adequately protect the rights of victims."

The Ministry of Justice has stated that it will monitor developments after the implementation of the policy and respond accordingly. A ministry official said, "Since we do not yet have exact figures on the extent of the increase in parole, we must first observe the trend to justify additional staffing. We are fully aware of the personnel shortage, and depending on future trends, we will coordinate with relevant agencies to reinforce the number of management personnel as needed."