In December 2020, when child sex offender Jo Doo-soon came out of his prison sentence for 12 years and headed to a house in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, the emotions of the local residents who faced him directly at the scene were three-dimensional.
At the time, the measures put forward by the police and local governments were diverse and intense.
However, I couldn't get rid of the repulsion that came from the fact that a heinous sex offender that everyone knew came to my community.
Two years later, when serial rapist Park Byung-hwa was released from prison, various countermeasures were presented, but the same conflict situation was created.
Numerous measures to block the possibility of recidivism of heinous sex offenders, such as a dedicated probation officer, installation of additional CCTVs, and deployment of petition police, were introduced at enormous social costs, but the limits were clear.
Even if the possibility of recidivism is managed to be close to zero, no one will be willing to accept that there is a heinous sex offender near my child's commute.
Enlarge Image
After all, the simplest way would be to prevent violent sex offenders from living in areas where there is resistance from residents after being released from prison, or areas where there is a high possibility of recidivism. .
In the midst of these worries, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon came up with the 'Korean Jessica Act'.
The main point of the Korean version of the Jessica Act is to prevent 'high-risk sexual predators' who are highly likely to re-offend from living within 500 meters of educational facilities for minors such as elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, daycare centers, and kindergartens by amending the existing Electronic Device Attachment Act. .
According to a court decision on a case-by-case basis, it was decided to limit the residence limit radius within the range of 500 m.
'Korean Jessica Law' - social isolation rather than recidivism prevention
Surprisingly, however, there are many studies that show that the residence restriction policy for sex offenders has no significant effect on preventing recidivism.
The same is true in the United States, which is actively implementing a residence restriction policy.
There is also a report from Michigan, USA (Mustaine. E. 2014, Sex offender residency restriction: Successful integration or exclusion?) that the recidivism of sex crimes in areas where residence is restricted compared to other crimes has increased slightly, and in the case of Colorado, children There is also a report (Levenson, J., & Hern. A. 2007, Sex offender residence restrictions: Unintended consequences and community reentry) that it appeared regardless of whether or not the residence was restricted when comparing the subject's recidivism and first offense.
Why do you want to pursue this policy even though there are disagreements about its effectiveness in preventing recidivism?
It can be inferred a little easier by looking at the graphic below.
Enlarge Image
Together with the SBS Data Journalism Horsemanship Team, we marked all elementary, middle, high schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers in the metropolitan area, including Seoul, within a 500m radius.
If the 'Korean Jessica Act' is passed, high-risk sex offenders will not be able to live in the yellow circle.
At first glance, in Seoul, where children's educational facilities are scattered due to the dense population, it seems that there is no place to live other than Bukhansan and Gwanaksan.
Similar results are obtained in most major cities other than Seoul.
Here, the proviso clause presented by Minister Han Dong-hoon in the briefing after the last business report stands out.
Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon (January 26, 2023)
"Within 500m, the court is planning to determine a specific distance considering the characteristics of each individual case, and we have made it possible to make various changes in the process, so concerns can be minimized. At this time, the state operates There is an exception clause that prevents the accommodation and protection facilities from being subject to distance restrictions."
If the law is enforced, high-risk sex offenders who will not be able to find a proper housing in reality, and even if they find it difficult, will face resistance from the community, can choose the option of a state detention and protection facility.
It can be seen that the Korean version of the 'Jessica Act', unlike many existing measures, focuses on de facto social isolation for high-risk sex offenders and relieving residents' anxiety through this.
There are many views in the legal world that such additional probation is necessary.
Attorney Bae In-soon (JY Law Firm) said, “In Japan, subjects recognized as needing enhanced probation are voluntarily allowed to enter certain facilities prepared by the state.” Effective re-socialization and recidivism prevention education will be possible.”
To avoid concerns about the 'Seoul Protection Act' and 'restriction policy on famous names'
Although it is possible to expect a de facto social isolation effect through the 'Korean Jessica Act', loopholes exist as it cannot be forced to enter a state prison or protection facility.
Even if the 500m limit is applied conservatively, there are many places to live if you are a little out of the city center such as Seoul.
Enlarge Image
I marked the 500m radius of all elementary, middle and high schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers in Imsil, North Jeolla Province and Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk, which were selected by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security as areas with population decline.
There is a clear difference from Seoul, where it was virtually impossible to find a place to live.
The Ministry of Justice judged that the 'Korean Jessica Act' can be applied to high-risk sex offenders who have already been released from prison. Currently, there are only 48 sex offenders targeting children under the age of 13 within a 500m radius of child care facilities in Seoul (JTBC Newsroom, reported on January 26, 2023). )is.
If the housing restrictions are conservatively applied, they will in effect have to leave Seoul and find a place to live.
For this reason, there are concerns that if the 'Korean Jessica Act' is applied, it will become the so-called 'Seoul Protection Act', which virtually pushes high-risk sex offenders out of the region.
In a study on residence restriction policy (Yoon Ga-hyun, 2015, Lessons from Policies for Preventing the Recurrence of Sexual Crimes), "Sex offenders living in socially disorganized areas not only reduce the effect of preventing recurrence of crimes, but also lead to disadvantages such as living an uneasy life for the residents of the community." is that it gets bigger.”
What happens when it becomes known that multiple high-risk sex offenders live in a certain area?
It can not only increase the anxiety and rejection of local residents, but also cause rejection of the area by other local residents.
It is also clear that the limit of residence is decided by the court on a case-by-case basis.
In Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where there are many children's educational facilities such as schools, even if the residence limit is set to 300m, there is almost no living space.
Enlarge Image
The problem is that if the range of residence restrictions is narrowed in this way, the original purpose of the law revision, "I will relieve the anxiety that a time bomb is living near the elementary school where my child attends next door," may fade.
If the range deviation is too large, for example, high-risk sex offender A lives within 50m and high-risk sex offender B lives within 500m, it may be difficult to instill the perception that 'the area around my child's school, kindergarten, or daycare center is safe'.
In the legal community, there are voices of concern that the court may be given excessive discretion.
Attorney Choi Kang-yong (Law Firm Logos Detective Team) pointed out, "Each high-risk sex offender has a different existing living space, and the court does not have sufficient judgment factors regarding this, and can only know how high the risk of recidivism is."
At the same time, he added
, "To put it figuratively, the scope of the statutory punishment is set excessively wide in the way that 'a person who commits a crime is sentenced to imprisonment of 6 months or more and 50 years or less'
. "
To be a 'mystery number' rather than a 'imaginary number'
According to Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon Chil-seung (Hwaseong-byeong, Gyeonggi-do), there are 4,892 sexual assault offenders released from prison for three years from this year to 2025.
Of these, only 3,265 were sexual assault offenders under the age of 19.
54 sex offenders who have been sentenced to prison terms or higher for committing sexual violence three or more times will be released this year alone.
These are the 'monsters who hunt (rape) an unspecified number of people' who are subject to the Korean version of the Jessica Act mentioned by Minister Han Dong-hoon.
An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "While preparing for the 'Korean Jessica Act', we made efforts to create standards that fit our country's circumstances, such as conducting a research service last October. We are preparing a reasonable judgment standard,” he said.
In fact, traces of much thought were seen in order to avoid unconstitutional elements while reaping effects such as reducing anxiety among local residents and preventing recidivism.
There is also an expectation that it can be a good system to prevent repeated conflicts whenever high-risk sex offenders are released.
However, as mentioned above, there are also a number of clear concerns that could shake the spirit of the law itself.
Depending on how elaborately the Ministry of Justice refines the bill by May, which is the target deadline for submission to the National Assembly, it seems that it will determine whether the 'Korean Jessica Act' will be a trick to prevent social conflict and anxiety caused by high-risk sex offenders, or whether it will stop as an illusion.
(Data Analysis: Bae Yeo-woon (Coaching Team), Graphics: Jeon Yoo-geun)