In South Korea, a man was detained for abducting and raping a 7-year-old girl in Naju city.
“The girl had been sleeping in the living room of her home with her mother and three siblings, and was taken by a man she didn’t know,” says CNN.
As the case became widely known to the people, the public outrage over the case grew tremendously from internet blogs to news reports, and this finally led to the President’s apology for the government authority’s failure to prevent the assault.
Since the case was not a once in a while crime, it could not be just dismissed as an aberration. Accordingly, the debate on a reasonable level of punishment has naturally brought up to the surface right after the case, and currently, the situation is an “all or nothing.” Chemical castration or death penalty.
The survey targeted high school student group and the middle-aged one has shown the result that, most teenagers could not effectively conceal their handbagging, but emotional views on the issue. “Sex crime, especially the one that victimizes juveniles under 16 should be sentenced to death, since the criminal has committed an unforgivable sin,” a tenth grade student of Hanyoung Foreign Language High School, Andy Park, said on Facebook.
“Since capital punishment hasn’t been sentenced in this country over 10 years, executing the penalty is not practical, and it seems too sentimental to insist on it. What we need right now, is rational judgment as times go, and chemical castration is the only option,” affirmed Jum-pyo Kim, an accountant, representing idea of the middle-aged.
The public is not the only shocked but also the goverment. Astonished with the kidnapping and raping of 7-year-old girl, the Korean Department of Justice is on the process of expanding chemical castration law, focusing on the crime against victims 16 and under. Justice Minister Jaejin Kwon already reported a proposal asking for tougher penalty and appropriate treatment against sex offenders. In reponse to the amendment, President Lee adamantly showed his support by defining a sex offender “a man with the mind of a beast”, according to the Korean AP.
However, the penalty is still controversial with its possible side effects and efficiency, and opponants are even arguing its incompatibility with human right. As long as sex crime thrives, and this endangers general public, an in-depth investigation seems indispensible in various aspects.
