Protesters hold a rally near the residential building of Park Byung-hwa, a convicted serial rapist, in Suwon's Ingye-dong, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Newsis

Dozens of residents and members of women's rights groups in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, held a protest Friday calling for the eviction of Park Byung-hwa, an infamous serial rapist who recently moved to the city.

The protesters, mostly women, gathered at Ingye-dong near his residence, as well as many administrative buildings, with signs saying “We Strongly Demand Eviction of Park Byung-hwa” and “Government Responsible for Citizens' Safety.”

This comes after Park moved into a studio apartment from the neighboring city of Hwaseong, where he faced similar reactions from nearby residents demanding his removal.

Suwon is the city where he sexually assaulted 10 women between 2002 and 2007. He spent 15 years behind bars after being convicted of those charges.

The news about his new residence in Suwon prompted officials to reinforce safety measures, such as installing additional security cameras in and around the building where he lives and increasing the number of police patrols there.

At an emergency meeting held on May 16, Mayor Lee Jae-joon said he would use “all means necessary” to ensure the safety of all residents.

But some protesters called for legislation to prohibit such ex-convicts from residing in areas near schools and other facilities frequented by young girls.

When such political calls were rising nationwide after the release of Park and Cho Doo-soon, another notorious sex offender, in 2022, the Ministry of Justice said it would propose a bill to restrict where such ex-convicts can reside.

But faced with opposition from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea on grounds of the right to freedom of movement, no such bill has been approved at the National Assembly.