`Juvenile Sex Offenders Frequently Violating Probation`

More than 100 juvenile sex offenders have violated their probation by not reporting to police when they leave their jurisdictions, the National Police Agency said yesterday.

This comes in the wake of the arrest of repeat offender Kim Gil-tae, 33, who is suspected of kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 13-year-old girl in Busan.

The agency said 101 juvenile sex offenders (53 last year and 48 this year) have received criminal punishment since last year for leaving a certain area without reporting to police, with most doing so intentionally.

A law protecting children and teenagers against sex crimes stipulates that juvenile sex offenders must report their home and work addresses, job and vehicle identification number to police for 10 years. Any change in personal information must be reported to police within 30 days.

Violation of the law incurs a prison sentence of up to a year or a maximum fine of five million won (4,413 U.S. dollars).

The country has 1,326 juvenile sex offenders, meaning one out of every 13 of them has frequently escaped from police monitoring.

The Justice Ministry will revise a law to extend the probation period for habitual offenders from three years to five, and require medical treatment until their deaths instead of for 10 years after their release.