Sentenced to 1 Year Imprisonment, 3 Years Probation
226 Instances of Stalking Including Sending Mobile Coupons
A man in his 30s who deposited 10,000 won each time and left messages to his ex-lover who had blocked his contact was sentenced to prison for ‘stalking’ charges.
According to the legal community on the 9th, Kim Taek-seong, Chief Judge of the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2, sentenced A (33) to one year in prison with a three-year probation for violating the Stalking Punishment Act. He was also ordered to attend 40 hours of stalking crime recidivism prevention lectures.
A and B (30) dated for about four months eight years ago before breaking up. Afterward, when B got married and blocked A’s contact, A began stalking from September last year.
A deposited 10,000 won to B and left messages such as “Unblock KakaoTalk” in the deposit details. He also sent mobile coupons through the ‘KakaoTalk Gift’ service. The stalking A committed against B in this manner amounted to 226 times.
The court judged that sending mobile coupons and other acts were all stalking.
According to the Stalking Punishment Act, if a person causes anxiety or fear to the other party without justifiable reason against their will, it is considered stalking. This includes not only approaching directly, following, waiting, and watching at the residence but also sending objects, writings, words, symbols, sounds, or pictures via information and communication networks. Online stalking, which involves unwanted contact and harassment through mobile phones or social networking services (SNS), is also punishable.
Providing, distributing, or posting the other party’s personal information or location information to a third party, or impersonating them by stealing identity-related information, is also defined as a stalking crime.
Chief Judge Kim pointed out, “Considering the victim’s situation during their marriage at the time, it appears that the victim felt considerable anxiety and fear during the crime period. The damage experienced during the marriage process due to the defendant’s actions also seems severe.”
He added, “The sentence was determined comprehensively considering that the defendant admitted wrongdoing and showed remorse, and that there is no prior record of punishment for similar crimes.”
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