On the morning of August 2012, 8, Seo Jin-hwan killed a woman in her 20s who was kicking an electronic anklet in Junggok-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The brutal crime itself was a public outcry, but the arrow of public opinion at the time was directed at the poor electronic supervision system.


Seo Jin-hwan, who killed a housewife wearing an electronic anklet in Seoul, has been confirmed to have sexually assaulted another woman 13 days before the crime. The trick was the same. He was also wearing an electronic anklet, but he was unable to stop the crime. 2012. 9. 11. SBS 8 News


It was only after the police arrested Seo Jin-hwan that they discovered that he was wearing an electronic anklet. The victims' families sought state reparations the following year, in 2013, arguing that if the state had acted properly at the time of the first crime, further crimes could have been prevented. On the 10st of last month, after nearly 1 years of trial until the repatriation trial, the government ruled that the government should compensate the bereaved family about 2 million won.


"The constitutional duty of the State to protect its citizens"

The Justice Department waived the appeal. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon explained the reason for the waiver of the appeal, saying, "It is an admission of the state's wrongdoing revealed during the trial." It acknowledged the responsibility of the state for failing to prevent crime and to protect its citizens. One minister also promised to improve the electronic supervisory system. "We have prepared and are operating measures such as 'expanding the number of people subject to 1:1 electronic supervision' and 'launching an electronic supervision rapid investigation team,'" he said, emphasizing that "we will continue to correct deficiencies and faithfully fulfill our constitutional obligation to protect the public from crime."



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Is that obligation, really being fulfilled now? I visited the West Branch of the Daegu Probation Office and accompanied the probation officers in person to check it out.

81 members of the Crime Prevention Team rotate 61 hours a day supervise 10 people subject to electronic supervision (5 for sexual assault, 5 for murder, 10 for robbery, and 24 others) in Daegu and other areas. Three of the 81 subjects are subject to 3:1 electronic supervision. 1:1 electronic supervision is given to minors who are at high risk of re-offending, such as Cho Doo-soon. Eventually, excluding one-on-one supervisors, the number of people who have to take over per person actually increases to 1 during the day and nearly 1 at night.

Therefore, the eyes of the crime prevention team members of the Western Branch of the Daegu Probation Station were always on the central control system monitor and smartphone, where the current location of the person subject to electronic supervision was displayed on the map. We looked at the location of the targets, which is displayed precisely with GPS and nearby Wi-Fi values. Furthermore, we made a confirmation call to each of the subjects to check whether there were any special issues. At night, I spent more time in the field than in the office. When the GPS values of those prohibited from drinking appeared in an entertainment bar, they had to go out to the scene and take a breathalyzer test right away, constantly checking that those subject to one-on-one supervision were not going near facilities with many minors, such as schools and academies, and that those subject to late-night restrictions were returning home on time. In addition to this surveillance, we also met and consulted with the target people and identified the latest trends.

By the time most of the subjects had returned home and it was confirmed that there were no more unusual trends, the needle was already pointing to the time well past midnight. When I returned to the office at dawn, my work was not over. This was followed by the preparation of reports on subject trends, analysis of behavior patterns, etc.


"There's a tight work pattern. (Night duty is usually on duty) about 2~3 times a week. It's a 'day, night, off-duty (day and night)' shift, so I keep my eyes on it for a while and go to work the next day...."
- Seodong-in Daegu Probation Center West Branch Crime Prevention Team Officer

"People Like a Time Bomb"

The growing number of so-called "special compliances" is also one of the factors weighing heavily on the shoulders of probation officers. In addition to the aforementioned travel restrictions, the customized regulations are applied differently in consideration of the characteristics of the target person, such as prohibition of using chat apps, prohibition of entering government offices, and completion of certain crime treatment programs. The number of applications for custom additions and changes increased from 2018 in 126 to 687 last year. That's about 5 times more to check whether you have installed the app on your smartphone and if you're receiving treatment well.


"Because if we miss it for a second, we don't know what will happen... There's always anxiety concerns. They're like a ticking time bomb, so you never know when it's going to explode, so even when you leave work all the time, your heart is heavy.
- Choi Sung-woo, Chief of the Crime Prevention Team of the Western Branch of the Daegu Probation Center


With the introduction of the Rapid Investigation Team, which was introduced in earnest last year, it is now possible to immediately investigate those subject to electronic supervision for compliance violations. The staff of the crime prevention team said that thanks to this, the number of people treated with belligerence has decreased a lot, and the burden of working at night has been slightly reduced. However, the rapid response team was also very tight, so it seemed difficult to put the supervision and prevention tasks together. The Daegu Probation Center main office and the western branch office together have only 16 people. Sixteen people cover the entire Daegu and North Gyeongsang region of about 16,1 square meters, which is mathematically equivalent to one person covering nearly twice the area of Seoul. Swift follow-up justice of violators may be possible, but it is not enough to achieve the "leak-free 9-hour supervision" we normally expect.


The goal is "1 supervised for every 10 employee."

It's not just the Daegu Probation Service that suffers from such turbulence. An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "The western branch of the Daegu Probation Center has a good environment." In fact, the number of people managed per employee dedicated to electronic supervision in Korea reached 1.1 as of January this year. When the electronic supervision system for sex offenders was first introduced in 17, there were 5.2008 people per employee, a nearly sixfold increase. The widening of the scope of electronic supervision has had a big impact. The scope of supervision was broadened to include kidnapping crimes against minors in 1, murder in 3, robbery in 1, and parole recipients in 6.



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I wondered if the electronic supervision system itself was limited to maintaining this level of manpower, so I compared it with foreign countries. Based on the number of people managed per employee dedicated to electronic supervision, there were 1 in the United States, 7 in the UK, 5 in Denmark, and 4 in Austria. Most OECD countries keep the number of people in charge per capita at around 3, and the Department of Justice is aiming to bring that number down to that point. But this goal, which the government has been repeating since five years ago, when there were 1.10 people per capita.



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Stalking is also electronically supervised... Is it possible?

The bigger problem is that things don't seem to be getting better right now. One of the reasons is the aforementioned expansion of 1:1 electronic supervision. In fact, it can be a great crime prevention effect because it looks at the every move of a target person all day, but the key is also manpower. The number of people subject to 2019:8 electronic supervision increased from 1 in 1 to 1 in January this year. There are 75 electronic supervisory personnel nationwide (excluding the Rapid Investigation Team), so 323% of the total is used for one-on-one supervision. As a result, the number of people who have to be supervised by other probation officers increases, which inevitably increases the burden. 23.1% of 1:1 e-supervised people have been wearing electronic anklets for more than 1 years. 79% of people over 5 years old. It is a structure in which the target audience is bound to accumulate continuously. However, after the murder of Shindang Station last year, there are also discussions about including stalking offenders under electronic supervision.


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In the wake of the New Party case, legislation is underway to abolish the anti-stalking penalty clause for stalking offenses, require stalking offenders to wear electronic anklets, and punish online stalking. We are strengthening 1:1 electronic supervision and rapid investigation teams, and expanding the linkage of local government CCTV to further strengthen electronic supervision.
- Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice (2022. 12. 15 First National Affairs Review Meeting)
Leaving aside the debate over whether it is right or wrong to put electronic anklets on stalking offenders, it is doubtful that if it is actually introduced, it will be able to cope with the current workforce. Experts say that the nature of stalking offenses, which are obsessed and preoccupied with a specific target, will inevitably require intensive management such as 1:1 electronic supervision. Attorney Lee Sang-beom (JY Law Firm) said, "The crime of stalking in general is different from other crimes committed against an unspecified person." "In many cases, we know the victim's personal information, and in many cases, the range of life is close, so a dedicated one-on-one mark will be required." Even now, with a shortage of manpower, the number of people subject to 1 :1 electronic supervision who have to wear electronic anklets for a relatively long period of time is increasing, and if the crime of stalking is added to this, there is bound to be concern that it will be able to hold on.


When will we be relieved?

The growing social interest and demand for probation and the voices calling for increased supervision are not just a day or two. This problem has been pointed out since the beginning of its introduction and until recently.


There are currently 1,30 convicted sex offenders wearing electronic anklets, but only 102 probation officers manage them. - 2012. 8. 22. SBS 8News
Currently, one probation officer is in charge of about 1 people, so proper probation is not possible. The Ministry of Justice said it is discussing lowering the number of employees to 19, the level of developed countries. - 1. 10. 2018. SBS 1 News


However, the number of probation officers increased in 2021 to 80 and in 2022 to 32. That's one-third or less than the number requested by the Justice Department. No matter how difficult the field personnel may be, it is difficult to give the public confidence that the ticking time bombs are perfectly managed with electronic anklets at this time. In order for the pledge to "fulfill the state's responsibility to protect the people" not to be a pleasant declaration, it seems necessary to strengthen the budget and personnel in line with the policy direction.