Stronger action needed on sexual crimes against children

A poor little girl in Korea has fallen prey to a hideous sex crime. The suspect, who allegedly killed the 10-year-old girl in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, has been identified as a 40-something man living in her neighborhood and a previous sex offender. Kim Jeom-deok, who had 12 violations on his rap sheet, kidnapped the girl, took her to his house and attempted to rape her. Then he strangled her to death as she resisted him and threw away her body on a mountain. After a high-profile case of child rape and murder in December 2008, the government strengthened punishment against sexual predators who target children, required them to wear electronic anklets, and expanded the scope of the disclosure of their identities. Nevertheless, another crime against a child occurred in a legal blind spot.

Kim was a dangerous man who served four years in prison after attacking a 60-something woman in 2005 in his neighborhood while trying to rape her. Despite such a record, he was not required to wear an anklet because he was convicted before the device`s introduction in 2008. His identity was not disclosed, either. Due to the legal system`s blind spot, he lived freely and was able to approach the girl. Had his criminal record been made public to the community and his neighborhood so that people could be more careful, such a senseless crime could have been probably prevented. Under the existing system, monitoring such a dangerous man as Kim is for police to closely watch him. Police checked him every three months but failed to prevent the crime. Many other countries with advanced legal systems restrict those with sexual or violent criminal records in activities such as living, occupation, travel and use of the Internet, making it difficult for them to repeat similar crimes.

Police have discovered a large stash of pornographic material on Kim`s personal computer. As many of them had child pornography, he could be a pedophile. Many other countries punish those who simply download child pornography, but Korea has no law against consumers of such material. As children are unable to protect themselves, they are an easy target for sexual predators. Korean society and the older generation must respond sternly to sex crimes against children.

The Gender Equality and Family Affairs Ministry is in charge of releasing the identities of child molesters, the Justice Ministry and prosecutors of electronic anklets, and police of monitoring convicted sex offenders. In Korea, most sex crimes are committed indiscriminately, with criminals often victimizing the socially weak such as children, the elderly and the disabled. The government should integrate a database on sex criminals managed by different agencies, while reducing the legal blind spots for sex crimes by enacting laws supporting police monitoring of convicted sex criminals.