By Kim Rahn
The ruling Saenuri Party is seeking to expand the use of chemical castration, a treatment to reduce sexual desire in convicted sex offenders.
Rep. Shin Yee-jin said Sunday the measure will help strengthen the punishment of sex crimes, adding the party will also set up measures to help them readapt to society.
The move comes amid public uproar over a series of sexual assaults against women and minors by former convicts who had served their sentences and were wearing location traceable electronic anklets.
“We are considering revising the law on sexual crimes so that convicted felons will be medicated if experts conclude they have difficulty suppressing their libidos,” Shin said.
The child psychiatrist-turned-lawmaker said chemical castration is effective in reducing sexual desire but costs a lot because the offender has to be given injections up to twice a month. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, it costs 3.5 million won per person annually for the medication.
“Despite the cost, we think the state should treat sex offenders with state money in order to reduce sex crimes,” she said.
The party is planning to have offenders of all sex crimes potentially subject to chemical castration. Currently, the subjects are those who have assaulted children under 16, are diagnosed with pedophilia and are deemed likely to repeat their crime.
Chemical castration was adopted in July last year, but only one convict has been subject to the treatment so far, as the punishment is applied on very limited cases with controversy over human rights violations and potential side effects.
However, public calls for tougher measures against sex offenders have grown after a series of cases involving recidivists.
On Aug. 20, 42-year-old Seo Jin-hwan, who had served seven years in jail for rape and has been wearing an electronic anklet, entered a house in eastern Seoul at 9:30 a.m. and attempted to rape a housewife, threatening her with a knife. After she resisted, he stabbed her to death.
“The problem is that the anklet can only trace the location but cannot tell what the wearer is doing,” Shin said.
The party is also considering abolishing the statute of limitations for all sex crimes, while that for sexual assaults on girls aged under 13 or female disabled people was scrapped on Aug. 2 after a revision of the related law.
It will also seek to strengthen probation on sex convicts and build more forensic psychiatric institutes. Korea currently has only one institute in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province.
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