Another Crime by Personal Protection Subject... Empty Promises of Recurrence Prevention

Last December Response Manual Strengthening Measures
Series of Accidents in Guro Following Daegu
Need to Improve Victim-Centered Response Measures
Frontline Police Officers Complain of Manpower Shortage

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Byungseon Gong] Last month in Daegu, a woman under police protection was attacked by a man she had previously cohabited with, and now a stalking perpetrator has killed a person under protection. Despite the police announcing strengthened measures in response to a series of similar incidents, violent stalking crimes against protected individuals continue to occur about once a month, raising urgent calls for improvements in related laws and effective countermeasures.

The murder of a woman in her 40s in Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 14th was revealed to have resulted from the police and prosecution missing clear signs of the perpetrator’s intent. The perpetrator, who was the victim’s ex-boyfriend, committed the crime just two days after being released when the prosecution rejected the arrest warrant requested by the police. The police had registered Ms. A, who reported assault and threats, as a person under protection and issued her a smartwatch, then arrested the perpetrator in the act and applied for an arrest warrant. However, the prosecution rejected the warrant citing insufficient evidence for some charges. After being released, the perpetrator sought out Ms. A and committed the crime.

Incidents of protected individuals being attacked have occurred repeatedly recently. In November last year, a woman under protection was stalked and ultimately killed by her ex-partner at her home in Jung-gu, Seoul. In December of the same year, a family member of a protected person was harmed in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Police Chief Kim Chang-ryong promised to prevent recurrence and personally apologized to the public, while the police announced strengthened response manuals. This was in December last year. However, similar incidents repeated in Daegu within less than a month and again recently in Guro-gu, Seoul.

The protection improvement plan announced by the police at the end of last year included classifying the victim’s risk level as very high, high, or moderate and implementing protective measures accordingly, such as ▲ installing AI CCTV ▲ issuing smartwatches ▲ conducting tailored patrols. At the time, there were criticisms on site that it was merely a superficial gesture. Some harshly criticized, saying, "Is the National Police Agency mocking the public with a meaningless 'protection' policy drafted without any effectiveness?" Amid this, as similar incidents recurred in Daegu and now in Guro-gu, voices questioning the effectiveness of the measures are growing stronger both inside and outside the police.

Experts emphasize the need to supplement legal systems but also point out that the current police response is problematic because it is 'victim-centered.' Professor Kim Do-woo of the Department of Police Administration at Gyeongnam University said, "The police protection response manual is structured only to warn perpetrators and lacks measures that can impose serious 'physical sanctions' or otherwise make them aware of the gravity of their actions." He also noted, "Following the presumption of innocence principle too strictly means there are no legal sanctions against potential offenders, which is also a problem."

Frontline police officers complain that there are far too few dedicated personnel to respond effectively to protection measures. In fact, the number of protection measures taken last year is known to have exceeded 20,000 cases. With 20,000 annual protection cases nationwide across 258 police stations, each station would need to protect about 80 individuals. A police officer who requested anonymity said, "Protecting people under protection requires manpower and budget, which are barely sufficient. Without increasing personnel and budget, if we continue with ineffective policies like now, attacks on protected individuals will inevitably repeat."

President Moon Jae-in ordered the prosecution and police to take measures against stalking crimes following the murder of the woman in her 40s in Guro-gu. Accordingly, on the 16th, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office instructed local prosecutors’ offices to cooperate with the police from the early stages of violent crimes such as stalking, sexual violence, and retaliatory crimes to strengthen victim protection measures. However, it has been confirmed that the National Police Agency has not yet prepared additional supplements to the response manual. A police agency official said, "There is currently no concept of preparing additional measures or improvements," adding, "Didn’t we already announce the related manual last year?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.