S. Korea to disclose child sex offenders' identities and photos online

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- Starting next year, South Korea will disclose the
identities of all convicted child sex offenders on the Internet, seeking to
better protect children amid a growing number of sex crimes against minors,
officials said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said all adults aged over 20
will be allowed under a revised law to log on to a government-run website
(www.sexoffender.go.kr) featuring the latest information on all convicted child
sex offenders, including their name, age, address, photo and summary of the
offenses.
With the opening of the new website, South Korea will become the second nation in
the world to make public photos of sex offenders after the U.S., officials said,
adding their personal information will be disclosed for five to 10 years.
The Korean government will also push for separate legal revision to mail the
personal information of all convicted child sex offenders to all households with
children in their neighborhoods, said the officials.
Under the present law, the personal information of those who are convicted of sex
crimes against minors under 13 is open to the public only on a limited basis,
making it available in the district police stations alone.
A growing number of violent sexual assaults on children have recently put
escalating pressures on the government and judiciary to get much tougher with sex
offenders.
To avoid possible revenge attacks or violence against the registered offenders,
the revised law will prohibit the spread of their information through media or
Web sites, the officials said.
"The limited access to the sex offenders' identities has not been effective in
giving information to parents of young children," Im Eul-gi, an official at the
ministry, said. "But the new measures will have far-reaching effects, considering
the nation's highly advanced broadband network."
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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