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| President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a meeting to check the progress of his policies at a reception hall in the former presidential office in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
President Yoon calls for swift reaction to sex crimes against women
By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday voiced concerns about an increase in drug-related crimes in the country and directed the Ministry of Justice to come up with a set of measures to counter the trend.
"About 10 years ago, Korea was said to be a country free of drug-related crimes," he said during a televised meeting with 100 citizen representatives held in the former presidential office in Seoul.
He said a surge in drug-related crimes in the country seems to be the result of a lack of cooperation between law enforcement agencies.
"From a certain point in time, the prosecution came to take a hands-off approach to such crimes, leaving the police to deal with them, so a crackdown on such crimes is not as effective as it used to be in the past," he said.
The president directed Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon to explain how to effectively tackle the problem in order to restore the nation's reputation as a nation free from drug-related crimes.
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| Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon is seen at a meeting held to check the progress of President Yoon Suk-yeol's policies at a reception hall in the former presidential office in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap. Yonhap |
Han vowed to root out the problem by cracking down on those who produce and distribute narcotics.
"Isn't it terrible that parents in this country have to worry about their children being exposed to illegal drugs when they go to school? The government will certainly prevent this from happening," he said, taking the floor from the president. "We can stop it if we launch a massive anti-drug campaign."
According to the justice ministry, Korea has seen an increase in drug-related crimes between 2017 and 2021. One striking trend is that illegal drug use increased 3.8 times among teens and people in their 20s during that period.
The president and the justice minister attended the meeting, televised nationally on KBS, aiming to check the progress of national policy tasks. Yoon and Cabinet ministers answered questions from the panelists.
When asked about the government's plan to deal with stalking crimes against women, Yoon cited the brutal murder of a female subway employee in Sindang Station in Seoul in September by her coworker who stalked her, saying such offenses will be prevented only when the government reacts swiftly.
"(Stalking crimes against women) are not something that can be fixed or prevented with a gradual policy approach. I think the swift introduction of measures that can make society safe for women is the key to solving those problems," he said.
Citing the murder case in the subway station as an example, Yoon reminded those present at the meeting that the brutal crime heightened fears among all women living in the country.
"We need to remember that she is not the only victim of the crime. Because of the murder case, many women in this nation are living in fear and suffer the consequences," he said.
The 28-year-old woman was murdered in a restroom at the station during her evening shift by a male coworker who had stalked her for years. The perpetrator was caught as other subway workers came to the scene after the victim pressed an emergency button in the restroom. She was taken to hospital, but died hours later.
The president called for effective legislations as well as thorough procedural measures to prevent not only stalking crimes targeting women, but also to address the issue of convicted sex offenders relocating to residential areas after being released from prison.
The justice minister said he is aware that women and parents live in fear when convicted sex offenders are released after serving their jail terms and then move to their neighborhoods.
"They are frustrated because there are currently no legal measures that can prevent sex offenders from living in near schools or other educational facilities," he said, vowing to introduce related measures sometime soon.
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