hankyoreh

By Lee You-jin, staff reporter
Following the ruling New Frontier Party (NFP), the government has announced intentions to look into the possibility of more sex offenders being chemically castrated. Women’s organizations criticized this move saying that chemical castration on sex offenders without their consent is mere punishment and no a means to cure their deviant sexual impulses.
On August 27, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-shik presided over a meeting of related cabinet ministers to devise measures to eradicate crimes against social safety. Through the meeting, the government said that it would actively study measures to have more sex offenders castrated. The government has agreed on the use of chemical castration, but is considering the possibility that the NFP’s move to expand castration to all sex offenders may infringe on offenders’ human rights.
A law to chemically castrate violent sex offenders was enacted last year. The law calls for this treatment on sex offenders found guilty of pedophilia and those over 19 with potential for repeated offenses. The severe punishment is meted out by the Treatment Supervision Deliberation Committee of the Justice Ministry or by the court according to recommendation of the prosecution. So far this year, the committee approved the castration of one offender and is considering one more case, which was requested by prosecutors.
There are concerns about this treatment. According to a report on the chemical castration of sex offenders by the Korea Institute of Criminology published in December 2010, the treatment does little to prevent sex offenses. The report says, “Because it is merely repressing sexual craving by chemical means, it is difficult to carry out a psychological treatment at the same time and therefore, it has little effect in preventing future offenses.”
The report mentions that in countries like the United States (with the exception of some states), German, Sweden and Norway the consent of the subject is mandatory in the treatment.
The author of the report, researcher Kang Eun-young of the Institute said, “An enforced chemical treatment may only temporarily weaken the sexual impulse of the offender. And also because our current law does not require the consent of the subject, this may also raise some constitutional issues.”
Women’s groups emphasized that increasing the number of those chemically castrated will only reinforce the misunderstanding about why sex offenders commit such crimes, that they occur merely due to the uncontrollable sexually craving in men.
Paik Mi-soon, director of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center said, “The government and the ruling party are mistaken in believing that if the rights of the offender are violated that will automatically make things better for the victim. A sex crime occurs not because of an uncontrollable libido. The aggressor is committing the crime because he wants to violate or victimize someone who is weaker than him so that he will feel powerful. It happens in a setting or a society where violence against the weak is tolerated.”
　
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