Police said Saturday they were seeking an arrest warrant against a suspect in the latest child rape case that has shocked Korea.
The Kwangju District Court will hold a hearing on Sunday to determine the vaildity of a warrant against the rapist. In South Korea, police are required to ask prosecutors to seek a court-issued warrant to formally arrest a suspect.
The 23-year-old man, identified only by his surname Ko, was detained on Friday, a day after he allegedly abducted a sleeping 7-year-old girl from her home and brutally raped her in Naju, 350 kilometers south of Seoul.
Ko has confessed that he committed the crime under the influence of alcohol, according to police.
Ko told police investigators that he frequently watched Japanese child pornography and thought about having sex with a young girl, according to Lee.
The suspect's "sexual impulse became more intense when he got drunk. This impulse appeared to have been activated after he got drunk on that day," Lee Myong-ho, head of police station in Naju, told reporters.
Lee also said Ko played a computer swordfighting game and met with the victim's mother in an Internet cafe, known in South Korea as a PC room, in the early hours of Thursday ahead of committing the crime.
Ko lived in the neighborhood very close to the victim's house and was well acquainted with the victim's mother, according to police.
Meanwhile, the victim is scheduled to receive another surgery at a university hospital on Saturday to repair injuries to her genitals and intestines, according to hospital officials in Gwangju, located near Naju.
Also Saturday, the ruling Saenuri Party's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye vowed to make all efforts to come up with strong measures to ensure children will not be victimized.
In a tweeted message, Park described the latest child rape as "a horrible crime that takes away the life of the young girl."
On Friday, President Lee apologized to people over the latest in a series of appalling sex crimes that have stunned Korean society.
South Korea has recently decided to expand the use of chemical castration for sex offenders as part of efforts to root out repeated assaults against women and children.
In 2008, a 57-year-old man brutally beat and raped a primary school girl after kidnapping her while she was on her way to school, a crime that prompted the government to pledge sweeping countermeasures against child sex offenders. (Yonhap)
경찰, 초등생 성폭행범 구속영장 청구
(나주=연합뉴스) = 전남 나주에서 발생한 초등학생 성폭행 사건의 범인 고모(23)씨는 평소 어린아이와의 성행위를 원했던 것으로 조사됐다.
나주경찰서는 1일 수사브리핑을 하고 "고씨는 평소 일본 음란물을 즐겨보면서 어린 여자와 성행위를 해보고 싶다는 생각을 품었다"며 "특히 술을 마시면 충동이 더 강해져 A(7)양을 상대로 범행했다"고 밝혔다.
고씨는 애초 A양의 큰 언니(13·초교6)를 범행대상으로 삼고 집으로 찾아갔다가 거실 바깥쪽에서 자던 A양을 이불째 납치한 것으로 조사됐다.
A양의 큰 언니는 거실에 있던 네 남매 중 가장 안쪽에서 자고 있었지만 고씨는 어둠 탓에 A양의 언니를 아버지라 판단하고 A양을 선택했다고 경찰은 전했다.
고씨는 범행일에도 술을 마시고 피시방에 갔다가 A양 어머니를 만나자 집에는 아버지와 어린 딸들만 있을 것으로 판단하고 집으로 찾아간 것으로 알려졌다.
경찰은 이날 오전 11시 현장검증을 하고 오후 중 고씨에 대해 성폭력범죄의 처벌 등에 관한 특례법 위반 혐의로 구속영장을 신청했다.
Sexual harassment: Hongdae a hotbed of secret cameras 
Talks underway to officially end Korean War 
Korea locked in employment paradox 
Jeju Air drops 'Taiwanese, Hong Kong people' from job ad after Chinese complaint 
Actress Ham So-won, Chinese SNS heartthrob prepare to tie knot 
Gov't embraces insects to feed on mounds of food waste 
Dropping 'jeonse' prices perplex homeowners 
Korea's candlelit rally inspires anti-Abe protesters in Japan 
Trump: Koreas have 'my blessing' to end war 
US troop withdrawal could be put on table 
.jpg)
