Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik vowed Tuesday to root out sex crimes against women and children as a recent series of murder and sexual molestation cases sparked public outrage.

Earlier this month, a 10-year-old girl was kidnapped, sexually molested and killed after she went missing on her way to school in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. In Jeju, a 46-year-old man was arrested last week for allegedly killing a 40-year-old female tourist and dismembering her body.

In the latest incident, a 66-year-old janitor of a primary school in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of sexually harassing nine students 55 times from April last year until recently.

“Victimizing women and children are anti-human and anti-social crimes that should never be tolerated,” Kim said while presiding over a Cabinet meeting.

“The key is for the government to put measures into practice in cooperation with the public so that the vulnerable people and their parents feel safer in everyday life,” Kim said, citing a set of countermeasures the government announced last week to toughen punishment for such offenses.

Kim also instructed officials “to put in every effort with resolute willingness to eradicate such crimes completely.”

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a revised law to better deal with external threats to the country’s nuclear facilities. Under the revised law, nuclear facility operators are obliged to conduct education and training for protecting facilities.

The government also decided to extend the scope of punishable acts of terrorism in order to deter and respond to such offenses in accordance with international treaties that define a wider range of illegality as terrorism. (Yonhap News)