All sex offenders can be subject to chemical castration regardless of the age of the victim under a newly amended law. The Justice Ministry on Sunday said the revised law will go into effect Tuesday following a three-month probationary period.
Currently, sex offenders whose victims are under 16 years of age can be sentenced to chemical castration. The amended version says that the changes will be retroactively applied to sexual crimes that took place before the enforcement date.
Chemical castration involves reducing the sexual drive of offenders for a certain period with drugs. It is conducted on offenders who are at least 19 years old and have a high rate of recidivism.
Based on diagnosis and review by a psychiatrist, a state prosecutor will make the request, and the procedure will start two months before the prisoner's release.
A sentence of chemical castration was passed for the first time in January this year on a 31-year-old man convicted of raping five minors.
