Repeated Stalking Murders, the Law Was Too Powerless

At an urgent press conference held on the 19th in front of Exit 10 of Sindang Station, Jung-gu, Seoul, youth and students demanded stronger punishment for stalking crimes and enhanced protection for victims in response to the murder of a female worker due to stalking. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The blind spots in our laws and systems, revealed by the ‘Sindang Station Attendant Murder Case,’ are angering the public. The court, which failed to separate the stalking perpetrator and victim from the start, and the police, who handled the case complacently, have come under heavy criticism. The tragedy that occurred at a subway station we use daily, and the shock that safety was not ensured at the workplace that was a home for someone, have turned into arrows of blame aimed at the government and the National Assembly.

To calm public outrage, measures to prevent recurrence are pouring out like mushrooms after rain. They mainly focus on preventing stalking and retaliatory crimes. The government and the National Assembly have belatedly begun revising and organizing related bills. The prosecution and police have joined hands to respond to crimes. The Ministry of Justice, the related department, announced it would abolish the ‘non-prosecution upon victim’s withdrawal’ clause stipulated in the Stalking Punishment Act. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also expressed the need for victim protection and strict punishment and is reviewing related measures. However, there are still doubts about whether these will solve the fundamental problems of the incident. There are calls to form an intergovernmental task force (TF) to review and overhaul our entire system. Furthermore, recurrence prevention measures should not be one-off. Meanwhile, the police revealed the identity of the suspect who murdered the Sindang Station attendant the day before. His name is Jeon Joo-hwan (31). Jeon was arrested on charges of killing the victim with a weapon while following her during her patrol of the women’s restroom at Sindang Station on the night of the 14th (murder in retaliation under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes). He was under trial without detention on stalking charges and other accusations and committed this crime one day before the first trial verdict, according to investigations.

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