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Questions grow over disclosure of criminal suspects' photos
This combination of photos released by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Wednesday, shows three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of a 48-year-old woman who lived in Seoul's Gangnam District. From left are Lee Kyeong-woo, 35, Hwang Dae-han, 35, and Yeon Ji-ho, 29. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The police's disclosure of the identities of three suspects connected with last week's kidnapping and murder of a woman has once again stirred up controversy over the identity disclosure system of felony suspects.
The system was originally introduced to guarantee the people's right to know and ensure their safety. But the images of criminals released by the police have often failed to deliver accuracy. In this case and many others, the photos disclosed are old, failing to show the suspects' current appearance.
On Wednesday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified three suspects in the death of a 48-year-old woman as Lee Kyeong-woo, 35, Hwang Dae-han, 35, and Yeon Ji-ho, 29.
The three were arrested on Monday for allegedly abducting the woman in Seoul's Gangnam District at 11:46 p.m. on March 29, then murdering her several hours later in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, and dumping her body on a mountain near Daecheong Dam on the outskirts of Daejeon.
The alleged motive for the crime was to steal the victim's cryptocurrency assets.
“The seriousness and cruelty of the crime are recognized as the three prepared to commit the crime for a long time, abducted the victim in a public place and killed her,” the police agency said in a statement. “The decision to release their identities was made for the public interest and to prevent any similar crimes.”
Under the current law, police can disclose the identity of a suspect in a serious criminal case in the name of public safety. The personal information to be released includes a photo, name and age. But there are no particular regulations on how long ago the photo should have been taken.
According to the authoritative interpretation of the Ministry of Justice, the actual mugshots of criminals taken after their arrest can be released only with their consent.
Without their consent, there is no choice but to release older photos from their IDs such as driver's licenses. This is why people have been calling into question the effectiveness of the identity disclosure system.
When police released a driver's license photo of Lee Ki-young, 31, who was suspected of killing a taxi driver and his former girlfriend, last December, there were comments about his change in appearance from an older photo that was used.
Similar criticism was raised when a photo was disclosed last September of Jeon Joo-hwan, who murdered a Seoul Metro employee at Sindang Station. When his actual appearance was revealed to the public when he was transferred to the prosecution, it differed considerably from the old photo.
The left photo, released by the police last September, of Jeon Joo-hwan, who murdered a Seoul Metro employee at Sindang Station, differs from how Jeon looked in the right photo when he was transferred to the prosecution in the same month. Korea Times file
Rep. Lee Sung-man of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said that the implementation of the identity disclosure system should put more importance on the people's right to know and the prevention of repeated crimes rather than on the suspects' human rights.
“The disclosure of their identities should comply with this purpose. If not, the system would be useless,” he said.
The lawmaker has submitted a bill to revise the law in a bid to improve the effectiveness of the system by clarifying its guidelines, such as disclosure of up-to-date photos of suspects.
The police have also been carrying out internal discussions about improving the system.