South Korea adopts law to make criminal offenders' identities public

In October 2023, the South Korean National Assembly passed a law that provides the legal basis for the government to disclose the identities of criminal suspects to the public. The new law, which will take effect on January 25, 2024, allows police to release a photo taken by investigators within 30 days of deciding to disclose the information. The photo will be stored on the Internet for 30 years.

Previously, South Korea had no specific law regulating when to release a suspect's identity.

Previously, the scope of disclosure of suspects’ identities was limited to violent crimes such as murder and rape. But now the law allows police to release a recent photograph, along with the name and age, of individuals accused of crimes such as: sexual violence against minors, certain drug crimes, arson, armed rioting, etc.

Before the law was passed, authorities were only allowed to reveal the identities of untried suspects, excluding those whose cases were pending in court. But under the new law, they can reveal the identities of both suspects and defendants — those who have been charged and those who are on trial.

The current system was implemented in April 2010, following the case of Kang Ho Sun, a serial killer who was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murders of 10 women, including his wife and mother-in-law. The case sparked public calls to reveal the identities of particularly violent criminals.

But there have been concerns about the lack of consistent standards for such cases, as the committee makes decisions on a case-by-case basis.