Yang Bum Nam Proposes Amendments to Two Key Laws
to Prevent Relationship-Based Crimes
Focus on Separation of Perpetrators and Victims
and Enhanced Electronic Monitoring Measures
Bum Nam Yang, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Yang Bum Nam, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangju Seo-gu Eul, announced on August 27 that he has sponsored amendments to the Special Act on the Punishment of Domestic Violence Crimes and the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes to prevent the recurring harm caused by so-called "relationship-based crimes."
Relationship-based crimes refer to offenses that occur unilaterally within a certain relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, including domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence. These crimes tend to be repetitive and habitual, and since the victims are often socially and economically vulnerable, repeated offenses can escalate into severe crimes such as murder, posing a serious social problem.
In fact, in June, a man in Bupyeong, Incheon murdered his wife just one week after a restraining order against him had expired. Last month, a series of horrific incidents occurred in Daegu, Uijeongbu, Ulsan, Daejeon, and Seoul, where victims of stalking were either killed or suffered serious injuries.
To prevent such relationship-based crimes, the top priority must be the separation of the perpetrator and the victim, and there must be mechanisms to monitor whether the perpetrator is approaching the victim. However, in the case of domestic violence crimes, a complacent perception that these are merely family issues has meant that, to date, there is not even a legal basis for attaching electronic tracking devices to perpetrators.
The proposed amendment to the Special Act on the Punishment of Domestic Violence Crimes establishes a legal basis for attaching location-tracking electronic devices to domestic violence offenders who are at risk of reoffending, through temporary measures or victim protection orders.
The proposed amendment to the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes extends the maximum period for which a stalking offender can be held in a detention center or jail as a provisional measure from the current one month to up to two months.
Yang stated, "The harm caused by relationship-based crimes is extremely serious, and continuing to operate under the current system is tantamount to abandoning the victims." He explained the legislative intent by saying, "Through these amendments, I hope to prioritize the separation of perpetrators and victims so that such horrific incidents are never repeated."
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