Reenactment of a crime in South Korea

The distinction between justice and human rights becomes increasingly hazy.

Have you ever been puzzled about why police would bring out the accused and force them to show how they committed the crime while watching South Korean movies or dramas?

While swarms of photographers point their cameras at the accused and the populace yells angrily, the accused is humiliated.

This is due to a habit known as crime reenactment in South Korea. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. The accused is brought to the location of the crime and is required to reenact the crime as if he or she had committed it.

Prosecutors and the government say that staging a crime reenactment helps them strengthen their case by uncovering useful evidence.

They claim that this will aid in the completion of the ‘puzzle.’

They aren’t entirely incorrect, either. After seeing a number of documentaries and reading up on true-crime cases, I understood that this approach was indeed helpful at time.

The approach assisted in the discovery of additional victims or vital evidence that led to the prison time of the perpetrator.

The issue here, though, is the word ‘accused.’ Occasionally, public opinion triumphs over the law and law enforcement is forced to cave in by revealing information about the accused.

By performing criminal reenactment in public, a person’s human rights and privacy are further infringed. Hence, bid adieu to ‘innocent until proven guilty’!

The problem is made worse by the fact that South Korea is a ‘face’ culture. You might as well be deemed non-existent in South Korea if you lose your reputation.