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President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a luncheon honoring South Korea's delegation to the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Nov. 5, 2026. /Yonhap News Agency

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the government is preparing to increase staffing and strengthen monitoring systems to address shortcomings in the electronic ankle monitor program for violent offenders and concerns about repeat offenses.

Lee made the remarks on the first episode of the YouTube program "The President's Y," which aired Thursday, after hearing a viewer's question asking why violent offenders continue to be released when electronic ankle monitors cannot prevent crimes.

"We are preparing to increase staffing somewhat and strengthen monitoring systems to address these problems," Lee said.

"Electronic ankle monitors are not a complete solution, but that does not mean they are unnecessary," he added. "We will make greater efforts to ease public anxiety."

Regarding the supervision of violent offenders after they complete their prison sentences, Lee said the government must consider both the principles of criminal punishment and practical measures to prevent repeat offenses.

"It is not easy to isolate violent offenders permanently because we must consider proportionality between crimes and punishments," Lee said. "Once they have served their sentences, they must be released. But simply leaving them unsupervised would be dangerous, so electronic ankle monitors were introduced as a supplementary measure."

"Ideally, someone would follow and monitor them in person, but there are staffing and financial constraints," he continued. "That is why we inevitably rely on electronic ankle monitors as an indirect means of supervision, although the system is not perfect."

"Some offenders have removed their monitors, while others have committed crimes even while wearing them," Lee added. "We will further strengthen the system."

                                                                                                        Park Young-hoon