Heads of Police and Prosecutors 'Join Hands'... How Will the Consultative Body Address Stalking Crimes?

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is visiting the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency on the 19th and greeting Police Chief Yoon Hee-geun. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] This is about the stalking murder case in Guro, Seoul last February. During the investigation, the prosecution and police engaged in an unexpected power struggle. Two days before the crime, the police judged the situation to be serious and applied for an arrest warrant for the perpetrator, but the prosecution dismissed it, which was revealed through media reports. The police blamed the prosecution for not properly recognizing the gravity of the case, while the prosecution countered that the police failed to provide sufficient evidence of the charges. This is cited as an example of the gap between on-site police and the prosecution reviewing the legality of police investigations.

Going forward, this gap between the prosecution and police in stalking crimes is expected to narrow. On the 20th, the National Police Agency announced that it will respond to stalking crimes by establishing a consultative body with the prosecution to share assessments of the perpetrator’s risk and strengthen investigative cooperation. The establishment of the prosecution-police consultative body was agreed upon during a visit by Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok to the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where he met with Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun. Prosecutor General Lee proposed, in relation to the Sindang Station station attendant murder case, "Let’s show close cooperation between the prosecution and police," and Commissioner Yoon fully agreed. Commissioner Yoon stated, "When an incident occurs, it is more important to create a community where people can feel safe than to focus on which agency conducts the investigation."

Under the prosecution-police consultative body, established by the agreement of the heads of the prosecution and police, close discussions will be held at various stages from the early occurrence of stalking crimes like the Sindang Station station attendant murder case to provisional measures and arrest warrant applications. For example, whereas previously these were handled through paperwork, they will now be processed through direct communication to shorten the handling stages. The police expect that this will increase the acceptance rate of provisional measure No. 4, which allows detaining the perpetrator in a detention center for up to one month, as well as the warrant issuance rate. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Eun-hee Cho of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, since the enforcement of the Stalking Punishment Act in October last year, there have been 7,772 cases of stalking victims re-reporting incidents, but only 211 of these resulted in arrest investigations, accounting for just 2.7% of all re-reports.

The response capability to stalking crimes at the scene is also expected to be strengthened. The victim in the Sindang Station station attendant murder case initially filed a complaint against the perpetrator Jeon Ju-hwan in October last year, and when the stalking did not cease, filed another complaint in January this year. However, the police did not take emergency personal protection measures after the re-complaint. The police explained that they judged the "stalking risk level" to be low, but the case ultimately escalated into a violent crime. If the prosecution-police consultative body is established in the future, sharing the stalking risk level, which was one of the causes of this case, is expected to reduce the possibility of misjudgment.

The prosecution-police consultative body for stalking crimes is expected to be formed by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the National Police Agency at the national level, and by local prosecutors’ offices and jurisdictional police stations at the regional level. Specific discussions between the prosecution and police for establishing the consultative body are expected to continue soon. Commissioner Yoon stated, "Since the heads of both institutions, the prosecution and police, share a common understanding, swift follow-up measures will be taken."

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