Monster Next Door: Cho Doo-soon’s Chilling 7-Minute Stroll to Local Elementary School Sparks Widespread Panic

◀ Again ▶

Cho Doo-sun kidnapped an 8-year-old boy and committed a sex crime in 2008.

After I was released from prison, I lived in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

I moved recently.

The residents around Cho Doo-sun’s residence, who suddenly learned the news, cannot hide their anxiety because there are kindergartens and elementary schools nearby.

Journalist Geonhee Cho broke the story.

◀ Report ▶

Child sex offender Cho Doo-soon changed residence on the 25th of last month.

He was released from prison in December 2020 and lived in a house in Wa-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, but after the contract period expired he moved to a location about 2 km away.

Residents who heard the news could not hide their concerns.

[학부모(음성변조)]

“I’m anxious. There are people living around there. So they say they want to move, but they can’t move because they can’t afford it…”

[동네 주민(음성변조)]

“‘Cho Doo-sun said he moved here.’ That’s why they said they were just putting their house up for sale.”

The distance from Mr. Cho’s house to the nearest primary school is 300 meters, which is the same radius as the child protection zone, and can be reached on foot in 7 minutes.

There are five kindergartens nearby, and if the area is expanded to a 1.5km radius, there will be 13 elementary, middle and high schools.

[초등학교 직원(음성변조)]

“(Cho Doo-soon’s house) ‘I heard it’s in this neighborhood, but is it related to this area?’ (Asking) There are one or two people like that…”

The police and the city of Ansan have strengthened patrols around Cho’s house and increased crime prevention facilities.

This is a special security center that was moved to when Cho Doo-soon moved in.

The police use this place as a base and constantly patrol the area.

This type of anxiety is repeated every time a known sex offender like Mr. Cho changes residence after being released from prison.

When Park Byeong-hwa, who was released from prison two years ago after sexually assaulting 10 women, moved to Suwon last May, local residents protested, demanding his eviction.

Statistics were recently released showing that more than half of the country’s daycare centers and preschools are located within 1km of a sex offender’s residence, which is shocking.

To quell residents’ repeated anxieties and conflicts, the Ministry of Justice last year announced “Jessica’s Korean Law,” which would force those convicted of high-risk sex crimes to live only in designated facilities.

However, he did not cross the threshold of the National Assembly for fear that it might violate freedom of residence and movement.

Furthermore, a similar bill was proposed last July, but is currently on hold due to the need for further review to see whether it violates the prohibition on excesses principle.

I’m Geonhee Jo from MBC News.

Video Coverage: Jong-soo Kang, Hyun-taek Nam / Video Editing: Cho-eun Park

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