City rents home near infamous child rapist

Cho Doo-soon, who was released from prison after serving 12 years for sexual assault of a child, is pictured after completing administrative procedures in Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 12, 2020. (Joint Press Photo)

Judicial and police officers will keep a close eye on notorious child rapist Cho Doo-soon's new home from literally across the street, as the city government of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, said Wednesday that it had rented a unit near his residence.

Cho, who was released four years ago after serving 12 years in prison for raping an 8-year-old girl, relocated to a multiunit home in Wa-dong, Danwon-gu in the same city last month. This sparked concerns over child safety in the area, despite the permanent dispatch of multiple police officers near the home and the installing of surveillance cameras.

The 72-year-old felon last year left his residence without authorization, leading to three more months of incarceration.

To address public concern, the Ansan city government rented another multiunit home across the street from Cho's residence, which police officers and employees of the Ministry of Justice are to use to monitor Cho's activities. The rental home is to provide aid for the officials in addition to the surveillance booths established near the child rapist's home.

Cho's relocation sparked concerns particularly due to there being a day care center and an elementary school in less than five minutes' walking time from the new home.

October data from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family showed that around half of the public education institutes across the country have at least one convicted sex offender living within a 1-kilometer radius. South Korea does not have legislation that restricts "high-risk" sex offenders -- those who have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for sex crimes, and who have either committed a crime against a child under 13 or at least three sex crimes -- from living in certain areas.

Last year, the Justice Ministry notified the public of the imminent legislation of what was dubbed a Korean version of the "Jessica's Law," but the law revision was discarded at the end of the 21st National Assembly session in May this year. Jessica's Law is an informal name for laws in several states in the US that mandate varying forms of lifetime monitoring of repeat sex offenders against minors.

A new version of the law restricting the residence of child sex crime offenders has been proposed and is currently pending at the 22nd National Assembly.

Cho is the perpetrator of what is widely considered one of the most heinous acts of sexual depravity in the nation's history. He kidnapped a then-8-year-old girl on her way to school in 2008, and brutally abused her sexually and physically.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)