"I Hear This Noise Every Day"... Woman Found Not Guilty for Entering Upstairs Neighbor's Home and Yelling Over Interfloor Noise

Court: "No Initial Intent to Trespass"

A woman in her 30s who was prosecuted for entering her neighbor's house and shouting was acquitted. It was reported that she took such action to protest against the issue of noise between floors.

Ms. Lee (30, female) visited Mr. Park's house located in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, around 8 p.m. on March 27, 2022, to protest the noise problem between floors.

While Mr. Park's housekeeper briefly opened the door, Ms. Lee ran in the entrance area shouting, "I hear this noise every day," and stayed for about an hour. It is known that even before the day of the incident, Ms. Lee had left a note on Mr. Park's front door asking for caution regarding the noise issue or contacted him directly via intercom to request restraint.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ms. Lee was prosecuted for trespassing, but according to the legal community on the 29th, Chief Judge Heo Myeong-san of Criminal Division 12 at the Seoul Northern District Court acquitted her on the 14th.

Chief Judge Heo cited the following reasons for the acquittal: ▲Ms. Lee originally had no intent to trespass ▲she did not enter the living room ▲since it was a simple disturbance, the crime of trespassing was not established.

Chief Judge Heo explained, "Considering the noise dispute between the two parties, there is no objective circumstance to recognize that Ms. Lee intended to cause a disturbance or acted against Mr. Park's will, so it cannot be concluded that the crime of trespassing was committed."

He added, based on a mobile phone video submitted by Mr. Park, "Ms. Lee stood near the entrance door opened by the housekeeper, protested by saying 'Don't film me' when Mr. Park started recording, and it appears she was prevented by the housekeeper from entering the living room."

Based on these facts, Chief Judge Heo ruled that the prosecution's charges fall under the case of lack of proof of criminal facts and stated, "According to the latter part of Article 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the defendant is acquitted."