The threat of his return home had already prompted his victim’s family, who live nearby, to move.
According to Ansan city officials on Thursday, Cho’s wife recently reported to local officials that she is moving out of their rented apartment. But their new home is only about a kilometer away, so the decision may prove cold comfort for the victim’s family.
A Gyeonggi Province police spokesman said, “We will closely inspect the surroundings of Cho’s new neighborhood and consult Ansan city officials to see if the existing crime-prevention equipment needs to be bolstered or relocated.”
“The new neighborhood is not far from the old one and is under the jurisdiction of the same police station, so we don’t anticipate any complications.”
Cho will be closely monitored once he leaves jail, from CCTV surveillance to a special police guard post near his home. Police had already set up 14 additional CCTV cameras near the old apartment and were planning to install 19 more.
Ansan is already under heavy surveillance with no fewer than 3,622 CCTV cameras, and police hope to double that by the end of next year, starting with hundreds of blind spots.
The city also plans to hire six security guards who will patrol Cho’s neighborhood and other spots around the clock. The government and ruling Minjoo Party are seeking to revise existing laws to lock sexual predators in special facilities for up to another 10 years after they are released from prison, but the law will not be retroactive.
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