South Korea sex offender registry exceeds 120,000 as police manpower lags

The number of sex offenders required to register their personal information in South Korea has exceeded 120,000, marking a 33.6% increase since 2021. However, police resources to manage these individuals remain critically low. According to data from the National Police Agency released by lawmaker Park Jung-hyun, there are only approximately 251 to 259 dedicated police officers nationwide tasked with managing these records.

This shortage results in an average workload of roughly 470 to 477 offenders per officer. Regional disparities are significant; in Jeonnam province, a single officer is responsible for an average of 624 individuals, the highest in the country. In Gangwon province, the ratio reaches approximately 676 per officer.

The current system faces criticism for functioning more as a mere list-management tool rather than an active monitoring system. Recent incidents have highlighted gaps in oversight, including a case where a registered offender lived at an address different from the one on file. Lawmakers are calling for increased specialized personnel and improved information-sharing between the police and the Ministry of Justice to prevent recidivism and close management blind spots.