Stalking Charges... Sentenced to a 3 Million Won Fine
A man in his 20s was fined for stalking a teacher by sending dozens of text messages such as "Please meet me" and "I miss you" during middle school.
Judge An Jae-hoon of the Criminal Division 2 at Cheongju District Court announced that he sentenced A (25), who was tried for violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, to a fine of 3 million won. A was also ordered to complete a 40-hour stalking treatment program.
A was prosecuted on charges of stalking B (female, in her 40s), a teacher at a middle school in Cheongju, Chungbuk, which A had attended, from December 2021 to March of the following year. A attempted to call B several times, but when contact was not established, he left KakaoTalk messages such as "Teacher, I miss you" and "Please meet me when you come on leave."
Additionally, A repeatedly contacted B against her wishes, sending messages like "Why did you delete the SNS photo?" when B deleted photos posted on social networking services (SNS), or requesting B to send photos. In March of last year, A stalked B by sending about 50 text messages and KakaoTalk messages over two days.
He also asked other teachers to send photos of B and reportedly applied to join a Naver Band group created by the school where B works for online video lectures. Teacher B was never A’s homeroom teacher nor did she teach his subject.
Judge An pointed out, "A’s continuous and repeated stalking behavior caused anxiety and fear to the victim, which is a serious offense." He added regarding the sentencing, "However, the sentence was determined considering that he admitted the crime, showed remorse, and is a first-time offender."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
