Names of ex-convicts who remove electronic devices to be disclosed to public

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- The justice ministry will disclose the names of those who remove their electronic ankle devices and flee, in order to facilitate their quick arrest, legal sources said Monday.

The new rule has been in effect since Friday, the sources said.

Previously, only facial features, body characteristics, gender and age were disclosed.

The ministry will also abolish a public committee hearing, which had deliberated on identity disclosure cases, in an effort to speed up capture.

The measure comes amid a rising number of repeated crimes by those under the surveillance system.

In 2021, a repeated sex offender under the location monitoring program was arrested for killing a woman before cutting off his electronic ankle monitor and another afterward.

High-risk convicted murderers, sex offenders, burglars and child kidnappers are subject to the use of devices such as ankle bracelets, which use GPS technology to monitor the location of the person.

khj@yna.co.kr
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