![Child sex offender Kim Geun-sik. [Incheon Police Agency]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/07/news-p.v1.20260907.92e879539a1f45fab8bbb7c861b9229e_P1.jpg)
Concerns are mounting over the need for measures to prevent reoffending as Kim Geun-sik — serving time for sex crimes against minors and assaults committed while incarcerated — approaches his release next year.
Attorney Son Su-ho, appearing Sunday on CBS Radio's "Park Sung-tae's News Show," reviewed Kim's criminal history and the available options for preventing recidivism after his release. Kim has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and pedophilic disorder.
Kim was sentenced to five years in prison in 2000 for raping and injuring a child and was released on May 8, 2006. Just 16 days later, he began offending again, committing sex crimes against 11 minors across the greater Seoul area between May and September of that year, for which he received a 15-year sentence.
Kim had been scheduled for release upon completion of his sentence on Oct. 17, 2022, but an additional five years were added after another child molestation offense from September 2006 came to light, combined with assault and obstruction of official duties charges stemming from incidents while he was incarcerated.
In carrying out his crimes, Kim lured children into his vehicle by posing as a teacher or asking for help under the pretense of going to church — ruses designed to disarm suspicion. His offenses grew increasingly violent, and some victims sustained physical injuries.
As investigators closed in, Kim fled to the Philippines using his younger sibling's passport before returning to South Korea and continuing to offend. He turned himself in only after police publicly released his name and photograph and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Court found 'little chance of rehabilitation' — chemical castration also rejected
The trial court that sentenced Kim to 15 years said sex crimes targeting vulnerable minors carry serious social consequences and stressed the need for severe punishment. It found that Kim showed almost no prospect of rehabilitation and should be isolated from society. Even so, the sentence was limited to 15 years on the grounds that he had turned himself in and confessed.
While incarcerated, however, Kim showed no reduction in violence — he fractured a fellow inmate's orbital bone in an assault requiring five weeks of recovery, and repeatedly attacked and threatened prison guards. Disciplinary measures that fell short of criminal charges are said to have numbered in the dozens.
A psychiatric evaluation conducted by the National Forensic Psychiatric Hospital diagnosed Kim with antisocial personality disorder, violent tendencies and pedophilic disorder (paraphilia).
When prosecutors brought Kim back to trial in 2022 for the additional offenses, they sought a court order for chemical castration, but the court declined.
The trial court acknowledged that an evaluation had concluded Kim "has pedophilia and poses a high risk of reoffending, making him a candidate for chemical castration treatment," but said that given his "lengthy prison term of 15 years," it was difficult to conclude that "the risk of reoffending after completing his sentence is high enough to warrant drug treatment that would cause permanent physical changes."
The appellate court said Kim had "deliberately targeted children and adolescents with limited capacity for sexual self-determination and a heightened vulnerability to crime," and that the victims had "endured psychological suffering from 2006 to the present with no reparation whatsoever, making severe punishment unavoidable." Still, it rejected the castration order, ruling that the legal threshold requires "a substantial probability of committing a sex crime, not merely a possibility of reoffending."
Prosecutors appealed, but the Supreme Court also declined to impose the treatment order.
Communities on alert ahead of release — 'Korean Jessica's Law' gains traction
As Kim's release draws closer, communities are watching the situation closely.
Earlier, ahead of his expected 2022 release, reports that Kim planned to reside in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, sparked public controversy.
More recently, posts circulating online suggesting he may move into a rehabilitation facility in Wollong-myeon, Paju, after his scheduled release next year triggered a fierce backlash, particularly on community parenting forums. The facility, which has operated since 2022, helps released prisoners who struggle to reintegrate into society after long sentences.
As the rumors spread, Paju city officials said they were "taking residents' concerns very seriously" and announced their opposition to Kim being admitted to the facility.
The controversy has renewed attention to what is being called a "Korean Jessica's Law."
Jessica's Law has been debated in the United States as a mechanism to restrict where sex offenders may live after release. Named after Jessica Lunsford, a victim murdered by a sex offender who reoffended after being released on parole, the law's core provision would require the state to designate a residence or a separate facility for serious sex offenders upon their release.
In South Korea, calls have grown for the state to designate and manage the residences of serious sex offenders after their release, bringing Jessica's Law into the national conversation. Critics, however, warn that such measures could infringe on freedom of movement and amount to double punishment for those who have already served their sentences.
There are also concerns that establishing dedicated facilities would trigger fresh social conflict over which communities would be required to house serious sex offenders.
Returning a prisoner to society after a completed sentence is standard procedure, but when the risk of reoffending is high, the anxiety borne by local communities is difficult to ignore. Critics say reactive measures alone — such as increased police patrols — are insufficient.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
