First Two Women on List to Offer Money for Sex to Minors

The Commission on Youth Protection decided Thursday to reveal a list of 671 sex criminals against minors on Sept. 24 including those who bought sex from them. The decision to include in the list those who gave money to minors for sex was put off because of controversy over unconstitutionality

An official of the commission said, “A complaint was filed by the Seoul Administrative Court against the constitutionality of the law related to the disclosure of the private information about those sex offenders, so the decision was delayed. But until the ruling over constitutionality is made, the disclosure will be continued.”

Those on the list include a woman in her 30s who introduced male adolescents to teahouses engaging in prostitution and another woman in her 30s who paid money to a boy for sex. These are the first women to be put on the list. Except these two women, there are 12 people who have high social status including professors, doctors, and pharmacists on the list.

671 out of 1244 sex offenders against minors who got irrevocable judgments were finally chosen through deliberation process. And those 671 offenders’ information such as name, age, birth date, address, and content of the crime will be posted at the commission’s website (www.youth.go.kr) and on 16 city and province government offices’ bulletin boards. Also, the information will be reported in government office newsletters.

The release of the 671 sex offenders’ list is the third of its kind. The number of the sex offenders in the third release was up from the second’s 443. And it is six times of that of the first, which was made August 2001.

Among the 671 criminals, there are 211 rapist (31.3%), 186 offenders who offered money to minors for sex (27.6%), 167 who assaulted (24.7%), 110 people (16.3%) who introduced prostitution jobs to minors, and so forth.

By age, those in their 30s (235, 34.8%) account for the largest portion, followed by those in their 20s (184, 27.3%), 40s (176, 26.1%), 50s (59, 8.7&), and those over 60 (21, 3.1%).

By job, 169 offenders (25%) do not have any jobs, 93 (13.8%) are working at bars or nightclubs, and 74 (11%) are office workers. Except them, there were 38 self-employed (5.6%), 37 owners of bars or nightclubs (5.5%), and 21 drivers of taxies or buses (3.1%).

Min-Hyuk Park mhpark@donga.com