In July This Year, a Stalking Victim Nearly Killed in Changwon... 'Police Requested Temporary Measures but Prosecutors Rejected'

Prosecutors Reject 1 Out of 10 Temporary Measures Requests for Stalking Victims

At an urgent press conference held on the 19th in front of Exit 10 of Sindang Station, Jung-gu, Seoul, youth and students demanded stronger punishment for stalking crimes and enhanced protection for victims in response to the murder of a female worker due to stalking. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] It was belatedly revealed that a ‘stalking victim’ was nearly killed due to the prosecution’s negligence. The police applied to the prosecution for protective measures (temporary measures) to protect a woman who had been assaulted multiple times, but while the prosecution rejected the request, an attempted murder incident occurred.

According to data disclosed on the 13th by Kwon Chil-seung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the police urgently arrested a man, A, on July 7 this year in Changwon, Gyeongnam, on charges of attempted murder for stabbing a woman he had dated in the past multiple times with a weapon and assaulting her with a tool. A had previously attempted to break into the victim’s house twice in May this year and was reported to the police. The police issued a warning for the first intrusion attempt and arrested him on the spot for the second intrusion attempt, during which he destroyed the back door and window of the victim’s house. However, the case was dismissed as the victim did not want to press charges.

During this process, the police took emergency measures to protect the victim, but since the duration was only one month, they persuaded the victim to apply to the prosecution for temporary measures, including a written warning (Type 1), a ban on approaching within 100 meters of the victim (Type 2), and a ban on approaching via telecommunications such as mobile phones (Type 3). Temporary measures must be requested by the prosecution to the court and decided by the court, but the prosecution rejected the request without applying to the court. While the police’s emergency measures have a duration of one month and non-compliance results in a fine of up to 10 million KRW, temporary measures carry stronger enforcement, with penalties of up to two years imprisonment or fines up to 20 million KRW.

The prosecution explained that the rejection decision at the time was because the victim did not want to punish A and the police had already applied for emergency measures.

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, from January to August this year, the police applied for temporary measures in 5,045 cases, but the court decided on 4,392 cases (4,120 accepted by the court). Including this case, the prosecution rejected 569 cases (11.2%). The police stated, "Since emergency measures have weak enforcement, internal guidelines require additional applications for temporary measures," supporting the necessity of dual measures to protect victims.

Representative Kwon said, "This case confirmed the prosecution’s complacent attitude toward stalking crimes," and added, "It is necessary for the government to prepare effective countermeasures to prevent such tragic incidents from happening again."