What you need to know about notorious child rapist Cho Doo-soon
Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam speaks to child rapist Cho Doo-soon at Cheongsong Correction Center in this Mar. 16, 2010 file photo. / Korea Times file
By Lee Hyo-jin
Notorious child rapist Cho Doo-soon's upcoming release, scheduled for Dec. 13, is making the public nervous. Calls are mounting to keep him in prison forever, but will it be possible?
Below are some questions and answers about Cho and why it is so difficult to keep him behind bars within the current legal boundaries:
What has he done?
In 2008, Cho, then 57, violently raped an 8-year-old girl in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. After kidnapping the victim on her way to school, Cho took her to a church restroom. He choked, beat and brutally raped her. The victim was left with severe injuries which resulted in permanent internal damage. Cho was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
He has 17 other criminal convictions dating from 1970, including sexual offenses and murder.
How have people responded the possibility of his release?
In the past three years, Over 5,500 public petitions related to Cho have been filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website. Most of them urged the government to incarcerate him forever, or to reveal his personal details. A petition stating that Cho should never be allowed to return to society posted in December 2017 gathered over 610,000 signatures. His face was first revealed in April 2019 by a local media outlet. It had not been disclosed until then, as he was excluded from the government website providing the personal information of sex offenders. The site was established in 2010, two years after his crime was committed.
Residents in Ansan, the city which Cho plans to return to after his release, have made thousands of phone calls to the city office. They have asked the mayor to ban his return or to reveal his address for the safety of everyone in the neighborhood.
The victim's father sent a letter to lawmaker Kim Byung-wook recently, urging politicians to take immediate action to keep the child rapist imprisoned.
“The government pledged 11 years ago that Cho will be permanently isolated from society. I believe that you will keep that promise,” read the letter.
Why is it difficult to keep him behind bars forever?
As the Constitutional Law prohibits double jeopardy, Cho cannot be charged twice for the same crime. The judiciary cannot reverse the sentence, nor can they give an additional prison term.
Many people point out that the initial sentence was far too lenient. Although the prosecutors had asked for a life sentence, the court accepted that Cho was under the influence of alcohol when he committed the crime.
Did the government do anything to extend his sentence?
The Ministry of Justice introduced a bill to create the Protective Supervision Act in 2010 as a supplementary measure for overly lenient punishment given to heinous criminals. Under the bill, the authorities could hold certain ex-convicts such as murderers and sex offenders in a separate facility after their release.
In 2014, the ministry attempted to pass the bill into the law.
However, the bill was met with a heavy backlash from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) which stated detaining an inmate who has already finished their jail term was a violation of human rights.
The bill was also negatively viewed by many people who were reminded of Samchung re-education camp. The camp, which opened in 1980, saw tens of thousands of civilians arrested without warrants and transported to the facility where they experienced violent treatment.
Another attempt for legislation in 2016 was halted over budgetary constraints by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The incumbent Minister of Justice, Choo Mi-ae, seems quite hesitant about the legislation of the protective supervision act. She recently refused the Ansan mayor's urgent request to amend the law.
How have lawmakers responded?
Public concern over Cho's release has spurred lawmakers to come up with various measures to keep him confined, or at least to prevent him from approaching the victim.
Rep. Kim Byung-wook of the main opposition People Power Party has proposed a bill, under which certain criminals with a high risk of recidivism can be held in a separate facility after their prison sentence has been served.
Lawmaker Ko Young-in of the ruling party has proposed amendment to bills on monitoring released child sex offenders. The revised law will restrict sex criminals' outdoor activities to 200 meters from their residency.
Similar laws are being discussed in the National Assembly, such as banning Cho's entry into facilities with children and keeping him from drinking over a certain amount of alcohol.
Will Cho be a free man?
He will have freedom of movement, but under strict probation rules including wearing a GPS-enabled electronic anklet which must be worn for seven years. His address and personal details will be disclosed for five years on a governmental website.
Cho will also have a probation officer monitoring him 24/7. The officer will not stay with him but will be able to monitor his whereabouts. The officer will also be able to make random visits to his home.