President Lee Gets Tough With Rapists

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Fri, December 8, 2023 | 08:35

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President Lee Gets Tough With Rapists

Posted : 2009-10-05 18:34

Updated : 2009-10-05 18:34

President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet to deal sternly with sexual abuse against children Monday, saying the government should make public all possible information about child rapists to isolate them from society.

President Lee Myung-bak

By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet to deal sternly with sexual abuse against children Monday, saying the government should make public all possible information about child rapists to isolate them from society.

"We need to improve our system so that people can share information about child sex offenders. No matter where they live, their neighbors should be alerted first," Lee said. "Child rapists tend to repeat the crime, so society should isolate them."

The instruction came amid a public outcry over the Supreme Court's ruling on a 57-year-old man who was accused of raping an eight-year-old girl, who suffered severe injuries during the attack.

The man received a 12-year jail term and was ordered to wear an electronic anklet, but many people said the sentence was too light. Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence.

Political parties are moving to toughen punishment for perpetrators of rape and other brutal crimes by revising the current Criminal Law, which limits the length of imprisonment to 15 years for certain crimes.

"People have the right to know if a person ever convicted of sexual assault against children is in their neighborhood, and if this person moves to a different neighborhood, the people in that neighborhood should also be alerted," Lee said.

The number of rape victims aged 15 or younger has surged recently. The figure reached 2,674 last year, up from 2,302 in 2007 and 2,178 in 2006, according to the National Police Agency.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr