"If Necessary, I Might Take Revenge"...Extreme Attempts Amid Persistent Stalking Fear

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A suspect who repeatedly sent text messages to his ex-girlfriend asking to meet again was sentenced to a fine.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Judge Jang Taeyoung) sentenced Mr. A to a fine of 5 million won for stalking and threatening behavior.

In July 2019, Mr. A sent about 10 text messages to his ex-girlfriend Ms. B asking to meet again. When Ms. B changed her phone number, he sent 13 emails with the same content.

After Ms. B deleted her email account, Mr. A sent money 33 times to Ms. B’s bank account number. He used the remittance messages to ask Ms. B to meet again.

Not satisfied with that, he sent 13 messages asking to be contacted again through the Instagram account of the company Ms. B runs.

Mr. A’s actions even extended to Ms. B’s mother. He sent threatening messages such as "I might take revenge. Even if I happen to meet your daughter, please let me pass by without incident."

Mr. A’s persistent contact attempts continued for about a year. As a result, Ms. B experienced extreme anxiety and fear, even attempting extreme measures, and her mother also suffered significant mental distress.

Even after being prosecuted for these crimes, Mr. A reportedly found out Ms. B’s contact information and tried to reach her. He also protested to the victim who submitted a petition and even mentioned filing a criminal complaint.

He even filed a lawsuit against Ms. B for damages and went as far as finding out her address.

Despite this, Mr. A, dissatisfied with the summary order sentencing him to a fine for violating the Information and Communications Network Act and for threats, requested a formal trial. He denied the charges, claiming "I only intended to ask how she was doing."

The court stated, "The Stalking Punishment Act was enacted in October this year and could not be applied to this case, but the acts clearly constitute stalking crimes. The defendant’s crimes are judged to be more serious in nature than the charges or the apparent facts, and it is recognized that harsher punishment than the responsibility and the summary order sentencing is necessary," explaining the reason for sentencing.