Court Sentences 60s Man to Prison for Stalking 70s Woman with Severe Disability... Committed Crime Despite Probation for Stealing Underwear

Sentenced to 8 Months Imprisonment and Detained in Court
Ordered to Complete 40-Hour Stalking Treatment Program
112 Reports Increased 3.6 Times Since Stalking Punishment Act Enforced in October Last Year

Stalking image and stalking report statistics graphic.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A man in his 60s who continuously stalked a woman in her 70s suffering from a severe disability was sentenced to prison and taken into custody in court.

This man was previously prosecuted two years ago for stealing the victim's underwear and was given a suspended prison sentence, but he committed the same crime again and ended up behind bars.

On the 4th, Judge Lee Ji-soo of the Chuncheon District Court Wonju Branch Criminal Division 2 single judge announced that A (66), who was indicted for violating the Stalking Punishment Act, was sentenced to 8 months in prison and taken into custody in court. The judge also ordered A to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program.

The judge pointed out, "Not only was the defendant tried for breaking into the victim's residence and stealing underwear, but he also committed stalking crimes. The victim, who suffers from a severe disability, appears to have endured considerable mental distress due to the series of incidents committed by the defendant."

He added, "Although the defendant admitted to the crimes and is not in good health, considering that the victim wants a severe punishment for the defendant, the sentence was determined accordingly," explaining the reason for sentencing.

A, who lives in an apartment in Wonju, Gangwon Province, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial for breaking into the home of B (72, female), a resident of the same apartment, and stealing underwear in December 2020, and is currently undergoing a second trial.

Nevertheless, on April 27 at around 8 p.m., A went to B's home, who suffers from a severe disability, knocked on the door, shouted, "Open the door, sister, I like you, sister," and when B did not open the door, he called her seven times, leading to charges of stalking.

Earlier, between 4:08 p.m. on April 1 and 6:44 p.m. on April 26 of the same month, A is also accused of repeatedly calling B and continuously stalking her.

According to the National Police Agency, since the Stalking Punishment Act was enforced on October 21 last year, an average of 105.8 stalking-related 112 emergency calls were received daily until December last year. This figure is five times the 23.8 reports received before the law was enacted. Compared to 7.45 cases in 2018, 14.98 in 2019, and 12.37 in 2020 before the law’s enforcement, the increase is significant.

Until the first half of this year, an average of 86.2 stalking reports were received daily through 112, marking about a 3.6-fold increase compared to before the law’s enforcement. Stalking consultations received by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 1366 Women’s Emergency Hotline also reached 2,731 cases in the first half of this year alone, surpassing the total number of consultations (2,710 cases) from last year.

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