| Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam speaks to pedophile rapist Cho Doo-soon at Cheongsong Prison, in this March 16, 2010 file photo. Cho was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a girl, 8, in December 2008 in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times file |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Concerns are growing over the upcoming release of convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon in December, whose violent rape of an eight-year-old girl in 2008 shocked the nation.
With 18 previous criminal convictions, Cho, 68, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2008 for kidnapping and violently raping the child in a public washroom in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Cho left the victim unconscious, with her head under running water. The eight-year-old girl survived but the attack was so brutal that she suffered permanent internal damage.
In a psychological counseling interview at Ansan Probation Center conducted in July, Cho said “I am fully aware of what I did and how my actions are viewed in this society. I'll put up with all the condemnation.”
He is also reported to have apologized to the victim, according to the Ministry of Justice, Thursday.
Cho said he plans to return to Ansan after being released from prison. The city is where Cho lived before his imprisonment, and his wife is known to live there, too. However, he did not elaborate on what he plans to do after he is released from prison.
Starting with a preliminary interview in July, the Ansan probation office plans to provide specialized education programs to prevent Cho from reoffending. The justice ministry provides a 150-hour, six-month special course providing psychological treatment for high-risk offenders who commit sexual violence. The process is intended to prevent criminals from repeating crimes by identifying the causes of their crimes and correcting their distorted percetions.
In order to strengthen management and supervision of Cho, the justice ministry said it plans to increase the number of supervisors at the Ansan probation office from two to four.
As Cho's 12-year prison term comes to an end this year, there have been growing calls to keep him in prison.
A number of petitions have been posted on the presidential office's homepage since 2017, asking Cheong Wa Dae to prevent his release. One posted in 2017 has garnered more than 600,000 signatures to date.
The public widely denounced the sentence for Cho as being too lenient. Some angry internet users expressed their concerns and fears ahead of his release.
“I couldn't sleep for two days when I first heard about his crime on the news. As a mother of two daughters, I'm so worried about his release,” an internet user wrote on an online community at a portal site.
Another user said, “I can't believe psychological counselling is the only solution the government can offer before his release. Stricter punishment is required for such sex offenders.”