12-Hour Retaliation with Ghost Sounds Amplified by Woofer Speaker for Interfloor Noise Dispute

Installing Woofer Speakers on Ceiling to Emit Household Noise
Fine Imposed: "Continuous Offenses Cause Significant Neighbor Distress"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A couple who retaliated against the upstairs neighbors causing noise disturbances was sentenced to a fine. Their retaliatory act of installing a woofer speaker to emit noise backfired as criminal punishment.

According to Yonhap News on the 10th, the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 3 (Judge Oh Myunghee) sentenced the couple, Mr. and Mrs. A, who were indicted for violating the Stalking Crime Punishment Act and other charges, to a fine of 7 million won and ordered them to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program.

The couple is accused of installing a woofer speaker on the ceiling from October last year and, until early January this year, broadcasting a 12-hour sound containing footsteps, chair scraping, and other daily noises 10 times over three months. At the time, the speaker also played fast and aggressive death metal music and ghostly sounds.

This was a retaliatory noise directed at Mr. B, who lives upstairs. The couple, angered by the upstairs noise, deliberately caused noise using the woofer speaker.

In fact, it is known that many people use woofer speakers, which are dedicated to reproducing low frequencies, for the purpose of retaliating against noise between floors, as the related search term "inter-floor noise" appears when searching for woofer speakers on portal sites.

The problem is that such acts can be subject to punishment. The Stalking Punishment Act, enacted in October last year, defines acts that cause anxiety and fear against the will of the other party as stalking behavior.

According to the law, acts that deliver not only objects but also writings, words, symbols, sounds, pictures, videos, and images are considered stalking. If it is proven that the retaliatory inter-floor noise act through the woofer speaker caused anxiety or fear, it may be subject to punishment under the Stalking Punishment Act.

The court stated, "The defendants' crimes continued for a considerable period, causing significant suffering not only to the victim but also to the neighbors," and added, "Considering that they have not been forgiven by the victim, the guilt is not light, but taking into account their admission of the crime and remorse, the sentencing was decided."