Lee chairs ultra-safe society meeting, discusses life imprisonment without parole

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung chaired a government-wide response meeting on an ultra-safe society on the 23rd and discussed measures to respond to heinous crimes, including the introduction of life imprisonment without parole.
According to senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung, the Ministry of Justice reported at the meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae that it would actively pursue the introduction of life imprisonment without parole to permanently isolate heinous offenders from society and protect the human rights of victims and their bereaved families.
Woncheol Cho, Minister of Government Legislation, also said that victims are most concerned that perpetrators will eventually be released after several decades, and expressed the view that life imprisonment without parole would be an effective response that could replace the death penalty. President Lee asked whether this would require an amendment to the Criminal Act, among other things, and heard the ministries’ views.
The Ministry of Justice plans to pursue a legal amendment requiring a ban on possessing weapons as a mandatory condition of compliance when murder and robbery offenders are sentenced to electronic monitoring, and strengthening unannounced checks.
The National Police Agency reported measures focused on managing and preventing offending, alongside protecting victims. It is considering and pursuing the establishment of a “safe patrol team” to patrol around the homes of crime victims, among other areas, and the operation of “perpetrator separation facilities” that would prioritize separating the perpetrator when domestic violence occurs, rather than requiring the victim to leave home.
President Lee noted that establishing a safe patrol team was also related to an employment program and asked that the recruitment criteria, duties and size be discussed with the Policy Office.
Regarding measures to address relationship-based crimes, he called on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the lead ministry, to devise effective measures. The ministry reported that it would swiftly introduce an “intimate partner violence death review system,” which analyzes fatal cases to develop measures to prevent recurrence, and compile related statistics.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to introduce a “public emergency transport team” made up of police, firefighters and mental health professionals to strengthen emergency mental health responses for people with mental illnesses who are at risk of harming themselves or others. President Lee said he thought it would be good to increase support for treatment costs, since mental illness also affects other people’s lives.
President Lee urged officials to consider more effective measures on the ground while implementing the measures already prepared. The government plans to prioritize tasks that can be undertaken immediately without legislative or budgetary action and are closely related to public safety, with the aim of completing them by the end of the year.
[email protected] Seong Seok-woo Reporter