Court Falls a Step Shy on Child Rape Guidelines
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
A committee of judges set up by the Supreme Court disclosed guidelines on child molesters Monday that could put them behind bars for life, reflecting nationwide antipathy toward such criminals.
Currently, a life sentence is given to those who have committed "serious" crimes such as murder, treason and staging a coup.
According to the guidelines, the influence of alcohol will be excluded as a factor for leniency, and repeat offenders will face additional punishment with a life sentence being a distinct possibility.
Molestation of children aged 13 years or younger as well as crimes occurring near schools, apartment staircases and elevators will be subject to harsher punishment, the judges also decided.
Considering that more than 85 percent of judges have agreed upon the new guidelines, harsher sentences are highly likely to be handed down to those who commit such crimes.
"Since child molestation, harassment, rape and other threatening actions could influence the victim's life for good, the court decided on stricter sentencing," an insider was quoted as saying.
The moves come after the Supreme Court drew criticism last year for sentencing 57-year-old Cho Doo-soon to 12 years in prison. Cho was convicted of repeated child rape with one of his victims ― a nine-year-old girl ― suffering extreme physical and psychological aftereffects.
From the public's viewpoint, the highest court was lenient with Cho, citing his state of inebriation when he committed the crime.
Bipartisan efforts were made in the National Assembly to force the court to become stricter with child molesters, but the committee's guidelines fall short of what legislators were considering.
Last December, the governing Grand National Party suggested that the court sentence repeat offenders to up to 50 years in jail, while also allowing the possibility of chemical castration.
Assemblymen also proposed that the statute of limitations on sex crimes should be scrapped, and that released offenders must wear electronic anklet tags for more than 30 years.
"The court should be able to persuade people with their rulings and regain their respect," Rep. Lee Choon-suak of the main opposition Democratic Party said during a National Assembly inspection last year.