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Notorious child rapist attempts to leave home without permission

Published: 13 Nov. 2025, 12:31

Cho Doo-soon answers questions from reporters after attending his first trial hearing at the Suwon District Court’s Ansan branch in Ansan, Gyeonggi on March 11, 2024. [YONHAP]

Cho Doo-soon, a convicted child rapist, attempted to leave his residence without permission again last month while showing signs of worsening mental health, according to Yonhap News Agency on Thursday.

Cho stepped out of his apartment in Ansan, Gyeonggi, around 8 a.m. on Oct. 10 and headed toward the main entrance before a probation officer stopped him. He returned to his unit minutes later.

Officials said Cho has shown signs of delirium, a sudden state of confusion, since early this year, and his condition is deteriorating. He has also repeatedly violated court orders restricting his movements during specific hours.

His restricted hours include school commuting times — 7 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.— and overnight hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Prosecutors indicted Cho for four separate violations that occurred between late March and early June.

Cho had already served a three-month sentence for violating the same curfew on Dec. 4, 2023, when he was caught outside at 9:05 p.m. He committed similar offenses after completing that sentence.

Authorities also charged him with damaging a court-mandated electronic monitoring device on his ankle. In June, a probation officer inspecting his home discovered that the equipment had been tampered with. Prosecutors indicted him without detention for violating the Act on Probation and Attachment of Electronic Devices. His case is ongoing at the Suwon District Court’s Ansan branch.

Cho currently lives alone. His wife reportedly left earlier this year, and probation officers visit him every morning and evening to help with daily necessities such as hygiene supplies.

In June, the probation office in Ansan, Gyeonggi, filed a court petition requesting psychiatric detention due to Cho's signs of mental instability. The National Forensic Psychiatric Hospital conducted a mental evaluation in late July and concluded that Cho requires compulsory treatment and supervision.

The court will consider whether to issue a treatment and custody order when it delivers its sentencing decision. In the meantime, probation officers, police and local government officials continue to monitor his residence around the clock.

Cho abducted and raped an elementary school student near a church in Ansan in December 2008. He served a 12-year prison sentence and was released on Dec. 12, 2020.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]