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Child rapist allowed to receive basic living allowance
Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea's most notorious sex offenders, leaves a probation center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 12, after being released from prison earlier in the day. / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The government of Ansan City has approved for Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea's most notorious child rapists, to receive money as part of the basic livelihood security program, enabling him to receive about 1.2 million won ($1,075) per month in welfare allowances, according to city officials, Tuesday.
Cho, 68, applied for the welfare assistance program a few days after he returned to his home in the Gyeonggi provincial city, following his release from prison in December, claiming that he and his wife were suffering financial difficulties.
The city government approved the application at the end of last month, with the first payment being made in the same month. Cho's application for welfare assistance has provoked anger from members of the public who said it was inappropriate to provide financial assistance to the sex criminal using taxpayers' money.
“We could not reject the application, as the couple's conditions met legal standards,” a city official said.
City officials said Cho satisfied the conditions qualifying him for the government allowance, as he is over 65 years old and categorized as a senior citizen who is incapable of work.
His wife is under 65, but has faced difficulties finding a job due to health problems, in addition to her “high-profile” husband.
Since the news about Cho's application for welfare assistance was made known, several petitions have been posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling on the city government to deny support funds to the sex criminal who left his victim with permanent internal injuries.
Among those, one petition posted on Jan. 8 by a person who introduced himself as “an ordinary man working for a company,” has garnered support from more than 83,000 citizens as of Wednesday afternoon.
“I have paid my taxes honestly, hoping for the country to take good care of its people. But I asked myself why I have to pay taxes when I learned of Cho's application for welfare assistance,” the petitioner wrote. “I want to ask why we have to give living expenses to someone like this monster who spent years in prison and already wasted taxpayers' money there.”
Cho was released from prison on Dec. 12, after serving a 12-year term for kidnapping an eight-year-old girl and violently and repeatedly raped her in a church bathroom in Ansan in 2008. The victim sustained severe injuries including intestinal ruptures, leading to permanent physical damage.