The main opposition Democratic United Party has adopted sex crime measures as one of its top priorities, but focuses on preventative measures and a remedial program for victims rather than adding new criminal penalties.

Rep. Nam In-soon submitted earlier this month a revision bill to ban sentence commutation on those who have sexually violated minors under the influence of alcohol. The bill also allows authorities to indict the offender without the explicit consent of the victim.

“The corresponding clause (requiring the victim to consent to indictment) was meant to protect the victim’s privacy but was often abused by offenders who tried to evade punishment,” Nam said.

The lawmaker is the party negotiator in the parliamentary special committee on sex crime measures and has participated in a number of anti-sex crime campaigns and the promotion of women’s rights.

She said pumping out a series of related bills will not solve the problem.

“Unlike other crimes, there is practically no way to undo the damage caused by sex offenses,” she said.

“The state’s duty, above all, is to arrange a social system in which women and minors may live in peace.”

This is why the DUP’s panel on sex crime measures placed more focus on promoting general social security, providing sex crime victims with proper medical care and obligating offenders to undergo psychological treatment, Nam explained.

“All these measures may seem too plain but are actually more fundamental approaches to the phenomenon,” she said.

“There are already plenty of punitive measures and the key point now is to make sure that they are abided by.”

Rep. Kim Kwang-jin, another proportional representative of the party, also suggested that sentence commutations should be banned totally for all those who committed sex offenses under the influence.

His bill largely reflected the public’s anger over a series of pedophile crimes, in which the offender claimed to have been drunk and thus mentally unstable.

Kim, too, underlined the importance of sex education in order to curb sex crimes.

Late last month he submitted a bill obligating the state to set up compulsory sex education sessions for soldiers on service and reserved military forces.

“Sex abuse and violence may only be reduced through long-term, sustainable education,” he said.

“By making good use of the military service period, it is possible to promote a general sense of alarm against sex crimes in our society.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)