"Assistant Manager, I Think of You Every Night" 30s Man Stalked Female Boss in Her 40s

Repeated Messages Sent Despite Refusal
Stalking Victim Reports Stress and Anxiety

A man in his 30s who repeatedly sent messages to his workplace superior, engaging in stalking behavior, was sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on the 8th, Min Seong-cheol, presiding judge of the Criminal Division 3 at the Seoul Eastern District Court, sentenced a man in his 30s, identified as A, who was tried for violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, to 8 months in prison and ordered him to complete an 80-hour stalking crime recidivism prevention program.

[Photo by Getty Images Bank]

Investigations revealed that Mr. A first met Ms. B, a woman in her 40s and his superior at the same company, in April 2012. Since then, A and B occasionally met at work or communicated.

However, starting from March last year, A sent multiple messages unrelated to work to B, such as "Let's have a meal together" and "Let's have soju and yukhoe in the evening."

In response, in April last year, Ms. B clearly expressed her refusal, saying, "I feel uncomfortable with private messages or contacts outside of work hours, and it seems impolite. I hope there will be no actions that make me feel uncomfortable in the future, and I say this as a senior at work, so please keep it in mind."

Nevertheless, Mr. A sent about 50 text messages to Ms. B, including "I dared to like you, Deputy General Manager," and "I want to eat together and think of you every night." He repeated this stalking behavior until September of the same year.

The court pointed out, "Ms. B explicitly expressed refusal to Mr. A's repeated contacts," and "Ms. B's husband also warned Mr. A to stop contacting her, and both the police and the workplace issued warnings to Mr. A regarding this matter."

The court explained the sentencing rationale, stating, "Due to this incident, Ms. B suffered severe stress and anxiety and took a leave of absence from work," and "Currently, she has moved her residence to another location and requested that her contact information not be disclosed to Mr. A, so a strict warning against Mr. A is deemed necessary."

Meanwhile, according to the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, causing anxiety or fear by delivering words or messages through information and communication networks without justifiable reason against the other party's will also constitutes stalking behavior. Those who commit stalking crimes may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.