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10 years ago, there was a case in which a former sex offender wearing an electronic anklet broke into a house and tried to rape a woman and killed her with a knife.

The bereaved family continued litigation saying that the police and probation officers did not fulfill their roles and could not stop the crime, and today (14th) the Supreme Court recognized the responsibility of the state for compensation.



Reporter Ahn Hee-jae on the sidewalk.



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In August 2012, Seo Jin-hwan tried to rape and murder his 30-year-old mother, A, who had brought her two children to a car at a daycare center.



It was later revealed that she had committed another sexual assault near her home just 13 days ago.



Seo Jin-hwan was wearing an electronic anklet with a history of sexual offenses, but the police did not check whether there were any wearers of electronic anklets near the crime scene at the time of the first crime, so the opportunity to arrest was missed, which eventually led to the second crime.



The following year, life imprisonment was finalized, and the bereaved family filed a lawsuit against the state stating that they would be held responsible for the poor investigation and management of sex offenders.



The 1st and 2nd trial courts ruled against the plaintiff, saying that it was difficult to see that it was illegal, and that it was difficult to admit a causal relationship to the victim's murder.



But today the Supreme Court ruled that the state was responsible for reparation.



Inappropriate actions by the police, etc. were considered to be a violation of laws and regulations.



Also, if the police had checked the location information of the electronic anklet after the first crime, it was determined that Seo Jinhwan would not have committed a daring crime.



The Supreme Court also mentioned the responsibilities of probation officers.



He pointed out that he would not have recklessly decided to reoffend if he had continued to supervise Seo Jin-hwan, saying that he did not have face-to-face contact for over a month, even though he knew the risk and antisociality of Seo Jin-hwan.



The Supreme Court returned the case to the Seoul High Court, recognizing a causal relationship between the police and probation officers' violations of their duties and the victim's death.



[Mr A's husband: If we had paid a little more attention and checked it out clearly, it would have definitely not happened before my wife (murder) happened, and it would be a little help when the victims (others in a similar case) file a lawsuit. maybe...

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(Video coverage: Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Park Chun-bae, CG: Lee Jong-jeong)