This photo of Lee Young-bok, 57, whose identity was disclosed after he was arrested for successively killing two coffee shop owners in Gyeonggi Province, was provided by Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – Law enforcement agencies will be able to take mug shots of suspects involved in grave crimes without their consent under a new law set to go into effect next week, the justice ministry said Tuesday.
The so-called mug shot disclosure bill, set to go into force on Jan. 25, will allow police and prosecutors to disclose pictures of suspects in heinous crimes from the shoulders up taken within the previous 30 days and take such photos if necessary without consent from the suspects.
The revision will also expand those subject to identity disclosure to include defendants undergoing trials and add more crimes to the disclosure list, such as terrorism, organized gangs, and drug and sex crimes targeting children.
Meanwhile, the government passed an enforcement ordinance specifying how to take the booking photos and the identity disclosure process during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
The ordinance decree stipulates that the booking photo should be taken to capture the suspect’s front, left and right side of their face, and that their personal information be open to the public for 30 days at a designated site, after a minimum five-day grace period.
(Yonhap)
