The Ministry of Justice said Wednesday that 109 criminals to be pardoned by President Lee Myung-bak ahead of the nation’s Liberation Day on Aug. 15 will be obliged to wear traceable electronic anklets. They include 19 sex offenders and 90 murderers.
The ministry attributed the larger number of convicted criminals wearing the electronic devices to a revised law enabling the retroactive enforcement of the monitoring of offenders, which went into effect on July 16.
Former criminals were not subject to wearing the device if they were convicted before Sept. 1, 2008, when the scheme was introduced in an attempt to control rapists and other felons prone to recidivism. But from July 16, offenders could be forced to wear the device even if they were indicted before September 2008.
Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam visited a central monitoring center in northern Seoul Wednesday, saying prosecutors are currently investigating 6,916 convicted sex criminals nationwide to decide whether to place them under the monitoring system. “Given this, there will be more offenders wearing the anklets. We should make an all-out effort to have the anklet system take strong root and minimize any potential side effects,” Lee said.