Public outcry grows against welfare grants for child rapist

(Yonhap)

Public outrage is mounting after it was reported that Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea’s most notorious child rapists, and his wife are receiving basic livelihood grants and the pension for senior citizens.

Cho, 68, who was released from prison on Dec. 12 after serving a reduced sentence of just over a decade for kidnapping, beating and grotesquely raping a young girl, now lives with his wife in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and is unemployed.

After news surfaced that Cho and his wife began to receive 1.2 million won ($1,080) per month in welfare allowances, angry online commenters took to the presidential office’s official website asking the government not to give Cho the welfare benefits.

“I had paid taxes in belief that they would be spent for us, but I feel pessimistic about paying taxes that even those who committed unacceptable crimes receive welfare benefits,” one person posted on the petition on the website on Jan. 8.

More than 87,000 people had signed the petition as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Cho, who is of the qualifying age for a pension for senior citizens and considered not capable of working, applied for the senior pension for himself as well as the welfare allowances for him and his wife on Dec. 17.

The Ansan city government confirmed Tuesday that the couple are receiving the welfare allowances, as they are eligible.

Those aged 65 or over receive a monthly pension for the elderly totaling 300,000 won.

Cho and his wife, who argued she cannot work due to preexisting medical conditions and her current circumstances, are eligible for the Basic Livelihood Security Program benefits because their income is less than 30 percent of the standard median income. 　

For a two-person household, they would be granted about 980,000 won, which includes living expenses and allowances for housing and medical care, according to the 2021 welfare guidelines.

On Dec. 11, 2008, Cho kidnapped, beat and raped an 8-year-old girl -- who the media later gave the pseudonym Na-young -- on her way to school in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison, but an appeal court later reduced the term to 12 years, as he claimed he was drunk when he raped the girl. The 12-year imprisonment for Cho was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2009.

Cho’s case triggered criticism of the country’s judicial system for being lenient on sex offenders.

Koreans registered and signed several petitions related to Cho on the presidential office’s website, with some calling for a retrial and others opposing his release. A petition also calls for a change in the law to prevent a recurrence of such a notorious case.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

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