A lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party has tabled a revision bill aimed at disclosing a recent photo of a suspected felon amid public criticism the current system does not deliver an accurate image of the criminal.
Under the bill proposed by Rep. Song Eon-seog, authorities should release a photo of a criminal suspect taken within 30 days of an identity disclosure if they decide to do so.
Currently, the police can disclose the identity of a person suspected of committing a serious crime, including his or her facial photo, name and age, but there is no regulation on when the photo should have been taken.
Recently, there has been public criticism over the effectiveness of the identity disclosure system after the police last month disclosed a driver’s license photo of 31-year-old Lee Ki-young suspected of killing a taxi driver and his former girlfriend.
After the photo was released, there have been comments Lee looks different at present from the past photo, but the police said they could not disclose Lee’s mug shot without his consent.
“The bill will increase the effectiveness of the system by helping the public better identify a criminal suspect’s face, and ultimately, help protect people from crimes,” Song said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency