Cho Doo Soon is a name that most South Koreans know well and abhor. Back in 2008, Cho inflicted irreversible damage to the body of an eight-year-old child by raping her in a public bathroom; While Koreans demanded that he gets punished with a lifetime in prison, he was sentenced to a mere 12 years.
Cho Doo Soon | SBS
And as of December 12, 2020, amid the cries of frustration and opposition against the release, Cho was set free after having served his time in full. With the release began Cho’s post-imprisonment sentence of wearing an ankle monitor and following specific house arrest terms until 2027.
Cho returned to his wife’s residence in Ansan, where he lived before imprisonment. In response to the massive backlash from Koreans in Ansan and around the nation, the police promised to watch Cho with surveillance cameras and police officers.
Absolute Chaos Ensues As Korea’s Most-Hated Pedophile Cho Doo Soon Gets Released From Prison
Fast forward three years, South Korean news outlets reported that, on December 14, 2023 (KST), Cho left his residence—violating the terms of his house arrest that restricts him to the confinement of his residence between late night hours.
According to the reports, Cho left his residence around 9PM on December 14 and was out for around 40 minutes. With over 34 CCTVs tracking him, Cho was soon found in front of a local police station. He is said to have cited “trouble at home,” later detailed to be a fight with his wife, as the reason for leaving his residence. The patrolling police forces are said to have “had to convince Cho to return home,” while he opposed.
The police force stationed in front of Cho’s residence. | News1
Hence, as of December 15 (KST), the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office has charged Cho with a violation of the “Act on the Electronic Monitoring of Specific Criminal Offenders.” Cho was not arrested, but will be going to court for the violation.
As expected, Koreans are expressing outrage toward Cho.
| theqoo “40 minutes would have been more than enough for someone to do something. What the hell were the police officers doing?” “Execute him.” “Convince…? Convince a criminal? He was a sex offender violating his house arrest. And the police officers had to convince him?” [Deleted Comment] “WTF? Just arrest him. What is there to convince him about? He broke the law. He violated his house arrest. He should’ve been notified of the consequences of the violation. And penalized then and there…” [Deleted Comment] “What the f*ck…? Looks like he wants to be out and about again, huh?” “Just get rid of him.” “Wasting all the manpower and all the taxes on this man… The poor neighbors must be so exhausted.” “If he wants to be outside, he can do so as a spirit once he’s dead.” | theqoo “Trouble at home, huh? LMAO. Of course, he’s getting into fights with his wife. Such a dumbf*ck.” “What a waste of manpower… Just put him behind bars again. Or execute him.” “His house arrest is until 2027? That’s going to be over too soon, too…” “It makes perfect sense that Cho’s case was the first episode of Taxi Driver.“ “I can’t believe the police had to ‘convince’ him to go home… To treat him well and ask him to follow the law.” “Shoot him.” “I wish the worst for him. For someone to shoot him before he can commit another crime. He’s wasting so much manpower.” “What a sh*tshow.” “Convince him to return home…? When he broke the law? He should’ve been arrested on site.”
Cho’s case has been made into a K-Movie, Wish, in 2013.
