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Personal Data Of Korea's Child Sex Offenders To Go Online
The personal information of child sex offenders has become available online, according to government officials.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday that adult citizens aged 20 or older can check the information, including photos, addresses and past criminal records at www.sexoffender.go.kr
Korea became one of the only countries to implement such a measure, after the United States
Most countries provide the information only through police stations or community centers.
The information is to be revealed for up to 10 years in Korea.
The subjects of the new measure are currently those who were sentenced to a suspended jail term and ordered by the court to have their information revealed since Jan. 1, when the law on sex protection of children and teenagers was revised to allow the public disclosure of personal information.
The information of current inmates also will be available right after their jail term expires, the ministry said.
“In order to eradicate sex crimes against children, related policies such as prevention, protection of victims, surveillance of criminals and punishment should be carried out properly,” said Gender Equality Minister Paik Hee-young.
Reflecting the public’s keen interest in children’s safety after a series of brutal sex crimes recently, access to the website was sometimes denied or slowed down due to the influx of users on the first day of implementation.
So far, the information of 401 sex criminals who committed sex crimes between 2006 and 2009 has been provided to their neighbors through police stations nationwide.
The information, including that of 364 others who are currently in prison, will be revealed online from September as well, the ministry said.
From next year, the ministry also plans to offer the information directly to the parents of children and teenagers via mail.
However, the information online is banned from use for further publication, and discrimination based on that information is prohibited.
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