Five Registered Sex Offenders in South Gyeongsang Province Unaccounted For
As of November 2, 2025, police in South Gyeongsang Province are searching for five registered sex offenders whose whereabouts are unknown. The information came to light during an analysis of data submitted by the National Police Agency to Democratic Party of Korea Representative Han Byung-do. In the Gyeongnam region, some sex offenders who are required to register their personal information have slipped through the cracks of legal oversight.
According to police data, the five individuals in question have either failed to return to the country after traveling abroad or have left their registered residences after being released from prison, leaving their whereabouts unknown. These individuals are obligated to register their personal information under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes. Under the law, sex offenders must register their personal information with state agencies for a period ranging from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 30 years, depending on the severity of their conviction.
The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes operates a personal information registration system to prevent sex offenders from re-offending and to promote public safety. The registered information is used by investigative agencies such as the police to prevent and investigate crimes and may also be disclosed to the general public under certain conditions. Those subject to personal information registration must register not only personal information such as their address, photograph, name, and age but also information related to their criminal history.
The National Police Agency conducts procedures to verify whether information has changed every 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, depending on the registration period, for those subject to personal information registration. Police officers check the accuracy of personal information by directly meeting with the individuals and promptly update any changes. These regular checks play an important role in maintaining the up-to-dateness of personal information and identifying the whereabouts of sex offenders.
However, the five individuals who have gone missing were found to be unreachable during these regular check-ups or were not residing at their registered addresses. The police are conducting a multi-faceted investigation to determine their whereabouts, including checking immigration records, analyzing communication records, and interviewing people in their surroundings. They are also considering the possibility that they have fled overseas and are reviewing cooperation with Interpol.
Representative Han Byung-do emphasized, "The sex offender personal information registration system is an important means of protecting public safety. The police must quickly locate the missing sex offenders and establish a thorough management and supervision system to prevent recidivism."
This incident has also raised concerns about loopholes in the sex offender personal information registration system. It is difficult for the police to immediately detect when a registered individual moves or cuts off contact. Therefore, there is a growing call to strengthen police oversight and consider mandating registered individuals to immediately report any changes in their information to improve the effectiveness of the personal information registration system.
Experts advise that psychological treatment and social adaptation programs should be implemented in conjunction with personal information registration to prevent sex offenders from re-offending. They say that multifaceted efforts are needed to address the root causes of sexual offenses and to curb the temptation to re-offend.
Meanwhile, Representative Han Byung-do also revealed that Jeollabuk-do received 23.1 points in the government-led 2025 first-half disaster situation management training evaluation, the lowest score in the nation, based on data submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. This suggests that improvements to the disaster response system are urgently needed.
The police will focus all their efforts on tracking down the missing sex offenders and plan to comprehensively review the operation of the personal information registration system and develop improvement measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. In addition, they plan to strengthen sex crime prevention education in cooperation with the local community and continue efforts to reduce the risk of crime.
