On September 14, 2022, a female station employee was killed in Seoul’s Sindang subway station toilet. The perpetrator joined the Seoul Metro with the victim and stalked her by calling and texting more than 350 times for nearly three years from November 2019. When the victim sued him and moved to change her home address, the vindictive perpetrator discovered her work schedule and carried out his kill plan.
People think that women are the only victims of stalking, but there are many cases where men are the victims. A woman in her 50s continuously stalked a man in his 20s whom she met on SNS for a year, asking for a relationship. She threatened the victim by breaking into his home or making more than 20 phone calls daily.
As such, stalking can make a victim, regardless of age or gender. The Republic of Korea implemented the stalking punishment law on October 21, 2021. The law was first introduced in 1999 but was not passed. As the number of stalking crimes increased, the law was passed, and 1,549 cases were received over the following year.
The number of reports received shows the serious status of stalking crimes in Korea. We should always be careful because anyone can be a victim of stalking. In addition, I think the punishment for stalking offenders should be further strengthened. The aforementioned stalking punishment law is difficult to protect the victim from the perpetrator completely, so there is a high possibility that stalking will occur again. I think the state should closely monitor perpetrators and protect the victims more safely.
저작권자 © 영남대학교 언론출판문화원 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
