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Korea began using electronic anklets in 2008 and implemented chemical castration in 2011 to tackle sex crimes.
Sex offenders are now subject to much heavier penalties than a decade ago. A decade from now, the country will probably have a more sophisticated and stronger punishment system.
The question is: Is this punishment-oriented approach effective in reducing sex crimes? A study released last week by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family suggests that the government may have to change the way of dealing with perpetrators.
The study showed that the number of people whose personal information was made public after they were convicted of sex offenses against minors surged by 19.4 percent year-on-year to 3,234 last year from 2,709 in 2014.
Of the convicted rapists, teens and those in their 20s accounted for 54.8 percent.
Online opinion is divided. Some say the country is suffering from more sex crimes because the punishment against perpetrators is not strong enough, but others say strengthening penalties has been proved counter-productive.
What can be a stronger measure?
Introducing physical castration is one of the ideas that has been repeatedly suggested whenever heinous sex crimes made the headlines here.
In 2012, a female ruling party lawmaker submitted a bill to surgically castrate child rapists after a seven-year-old schoolgirl was raped by Ko Jong-seok, a 23-year-old child porn addict, in Naju, South Jeolla Province.
The "Eunuch Bill" was welcomed by women's rights groups and family members of rape victims, but received the cold shoulder from her fellow lawmakers.
Physical castration may not be harsh at all for rapists like Ko because they have ruined the lives of children as well as their parents.
The government has already expanded the use of chemical castration on sex crime convicts to prevent them from repeating offenses. However, it costs a lot of taxpayers' money and needs long years of monitoring.
In that sense, removing their testicles could be the quickest, most cost-effective and fundamental method.
A blogger, who identified himself as the father of a middle school student raped at age 10, said he supports this.
"I don't agree with experts who attribute the increase in sex offenses to structural problems in society and who demand better psychological therapies and rehabilitation programs for rapists instead of strengthening punishment. That's because they have never experienced the suffering and pain that I did," he said. "It will remain a painful memory even if I kill the man who raped my daughter."
The father's feelings are understandable, but there are questions about whether such an extreme measure is appropriate in a civilized society in the 21st century. Most of all, the measure could violate basic human rights in the Constitution and harm the country's international reputation.
The government has introduced electronic anklets and chemical castration to prevent sex crimes, but one of the side-effects is that it makes offenders more violent and anti-social.
The ministry's recent study indicates that castration is not effective, and stronger punishment will not stop sex crimes.
The government's current policy is only focusing on isolating sex offenders from society. It could make the situation worse because most sex offenders have feelings of frustration and alienation that result from their complaints and grudges toward society.
This is why many countries are providing psychological therapy and counseling services to sex criminals, while maintaining strong punishment for those who repeat their crimes. Korean policymakers should reconsider their punishment-oriented approach.
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