Despite Police Warnings, Contacted 63 Times in Two Days
Court: "Exceeds Socially Acceptable Limits"
A man in his 60s who persistently demanded repayment of money lent to his ex-mistress during their relationship was acquitted in the first trial but found guilty in the appellate trial.
The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Shim Hyun-geun) announced on the 1st, "A (66), who was indicted for violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes and unlicensed driving under the Road Traffic Act, was sentenced to 4 months in prison and ordered to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program."
On the evening of October 24 and the morning of October 25, 2021, A parked his car near B's (in her 40s) house parking lot and waited for her.
On the morning of the 25th, A was warned by the police who responded to B's report not to contact B. However, starting about an hour later and continuing for five hours, he sent a total of 63 messages, including ones saying, "If you transfer the money, I won't come or contact you," leading to his prosecution.
The court acquitted A in the first trial. The basis was that A only visited B for two days, and the content of the messages mainly concerned repayment of the 2.2 million won credit card debt lent to B. The first trial stated, "A's actions appear to be discontinuous, one-time contacts intended to request debt repayment from the victim," and sentenced him to 4 months in prison only for the unlicensed driving charge.
However, the second trial overturned this. The appellate court judged that although A sent messages about debt repayment, his actions exceeded socially acceptable limits and found him guilty. Factors included that before the dates listed in the indictment, he had approached or contacted the victim against her will; the number of contacts on the day of the offense was not insignificant at 63 times; and he continued contacting her even after being warned by the police. Additionally, since he already roughly knew the victim's address at the time of the offense, there was no significant obstacle to exercising legal remedies, which was also a factor in the guilty verdict.
However, the court noted, "There is also an aspect of exercising rights in A's motive," and sentenced him to 4 months in prison as in the original trial, adding only the order to complete the stalking treatment program.
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