'Winner-only' society causes some to become unglued

By Na Jeong-ju

Sudden, seemingly mindless violent crimes are mostly committed by those left out of competition at schools and workplaces, and thus alienated from society, experts said Thursday.

The majority of such offenders, they say, vent the anger they accumulate during daily life towards society by attacking others when they are under the influence of alcohol or become emotional.

“Most people who attack strangers think they are losers and all alone. Such feelings of frustration and alienation result from their complaints and grudges toward society,” said Pyo Chang-won, a criminology professor at Korean National Police University.

“It’s true that the country’s rigid competition-oriented system and social prejudice toward those left out of competition is behind an increase in such crimes.”

Yeom Keon-ryong, a professor at Hanyang University, said Korea’s lack of a system to take care of the underprivileged is behind such cases that were apparently motivated by complaints or grudges toward society and perpetrated impulsively.

“Koreans have become more vulnerable to rage as the size of families here has become smaller and smaller,” Yeom said. “In the past, they could relieve their stress not only by drinking but also by talking with their family. But such an opportunity is disappearing.”

Experts say Korea tends to resort to physical measures to prevent crimes, but one of the side-effects is that it makes offenders more violent and anti-social. They said psychological therapy and rehabilitation programs could be more effective than harsh punishment.

Meanwhile, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday it will create a team of 800 officers this year to strengthen monitoring of more than 37,000 ex-convicts who are “highly likely” to reoffend.

They include some 1,400 people who were convicted of sex offenses.

The measure came amid public uproar over soaring crimes against minors and women despite the government’s repeated pledge to strengthen punishment.

“The team members will visit the ex-convicts on our watch list twice a week and frequently call them,” an NPA spokesman said. “They will be put under tighter surveillance because most serious crimes are committed by recidivist.”

The officer said protecting children and women from sex crimes has become the top priority for police. Political parties are moving to toughen punishment for rapists and child abusers by revising the current Criminal Law.

An NPA report released last month showed almost half of sex crimes that occurred last year were committed by convicted sex offenders. The government began using electronic anklets from 2008 and implemented chemical castration in 2011 to tackle rising sex crimes. However, such measures are still disputed due to their alleged low efficacy and cost problems.

The agency said it will make public all possible information about child rapists to “isolate” them from society.