In a situation where relationship crimes continue to occur, such as a stalking victim being murdered by her ex-lover in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, it has been found that the perpetrator correction project at the police investigation stage has been halted.
It is pointed out that there is a need to strengthen isolation of perpetrators and protection of victims, while at the same time providing measures to lower the risk of recidivism by intervening in obsession and distorted perceptions from the beginning of the investigation.
According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party on the 8th, the police ended the pilot project for the 'Stalking Actor Counseling and Treatment Program' at the end of 2024. Afterwards, it was confirmed that there was no separate offender correction project operated during the investigation stage.
This program was implemented in a number of provincial and provincial police agencies, including the Jeju Police Agency, Gyeongbuk Police Agency, Busan Police Agency, and Jeonnam Police Agency, as well as a pilot operation at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in April 2022.
The intention was to have a professional counselor intervene in the offender's psychology and behavior even before the conviction to change the obsession and distorted perception of the victim and prevent recidivism.
The operation was carried out by having the police select subjects for counseling, obtain consent to participate, and link them to external professional counselors.
Professional counselors conducted interviews with offenders, psychological tests, awareness improvement, and cognitive behavioral therapy, and police supplemented victim safety measures by reassessing the risk of recidivism based on the counseling results.
In 2024, the final year, it was carried out in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Southern District Office, but only 14 million won, or 11.3% of the budget of 124 million won, was spent.
The National Police Agency explained that it terminated the project in consideration of negative feedback, such as low participation due to lack of enforcement and concerns about abuse by perpetrators.
In previous studies, positive changes were also reported, such as improvements in the offender's perception and psychological state.
According to a research report conducted by Dongguk University's Industry-Academic Cooperation Group at the request of the National Police Agency, in a survey of 40 professional counselors at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 97.2% of respondents evaluated the program as effective in reducing the risk of offenders' recurrence.
Parts that were effective included improving the perpetrator's awareness of stalking crime (47.1%), reducing negative emotions such as anger (38.2%), and willingness to improve (14.7%).
In the pre- and post-counseling surveys of stalking offenders who participated in the Jeju Office's 'Visiting Offender Rehabilitation Program', positive self-image and negative psychological state indicators improved statistically significantly.
However, there were limits to continuous counseling because the offender had to agree to receive counseling, and even if he or she participated, he or she could stop if he or she wanted to.
Among the 145 participants in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's pilot project, only 11 (7.6%) had a risk rating of 'severe'.
The researchers analyzed that it was difficult to get perpetrators of serious stalking crimes to participate because there was no legal force and the consent of the perpetrator had to be obtained.
In interviews with on-site police officers, the difficulty was commonly raised that counseling cannot begin if the offender refuses, and that counseling can be stopped at any time during the process.
The researchers suggested that a system should be established to lower the risk of recidivism through counseling from the beginning of the investigation, and that "there is a need to legislate to allow perpetrators to complete correction and counseling programs before conviction by introducing additional provisional measures."
The National Police Agency is also presenting its opinion to the National Assembly to revise the law in a way that includes counseling and treatment in the provisional measures under the Stalking Punishment Act and implements them as court decisions.
A related bill was also proposed in the National Assembly.
Representative Lim Ho-seon of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed an amendment in February to add entrustment of consultation to counseling centers and entrustment to medical institutions to the provisional measures, and Representative Kim Dae-sik of the People Power Party proposed an amendment in August to add entrustment of counseling and medical care and completion of education programs to prevent recidivism.
However, some are concerned that participation in counseling may be used as a basis for appealing for a reduced sentence at trial, regardless of whether it actually led to behavioral changes.
Cho Jin-kyung, CEO of the Teenage Women's Human Rights Center, emphasized, "It must be corrective education that makes the perpetrator realize that his or her actions are wrong and actually change his or her behavior."
Experts advised that isolation and correction should be carried out simultaneously depending on the risk of the perpetrator, and that professional counseling should be provided from the investigation stage to perpetrators who have not been arrested.
Lee Geon-soo, a professor at Baekseok University's Department of Police Studies, said, "High-risk offenders should be isolated first, but unincarcerated medium- and low-risk offenders should also continuously examine their thoughts, intentions, and actions through professional counseling."
He continued, “Intervention is needed to lower the risk before it leads to a bigger crime,” and “In order to protect the life of the victim, we must legislate to make necessary counseling, treatment, and correction mandatory during the investigation stage.”
Professor Emeritus Lee Yun-ho of the Department of Police Administration at Dongguk University also said, "Punishment alone does not automatically eliminate the perpetrator's violence," and added, "Treatment to reduce hatred and revenge must be provided in parallel."
