Sindang Station Victim's Uncle: "Heartbreaking Malicious Comments Toward My Nephew... Are They Truly Fellow Citizens Breathing the Same Air?"

Bereaved Family: "We Hope Such Incidents Never Happen Again"

A memorial procession of citizens continues on the 19th at the women's restroom of Sindang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, where a 20-year-old station attendant was murdered after stalking. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The bereaved family of the victim in the 'Sindang Station Staff Stalking Murder Case' revealed that they are considering legal action against some netizens who wrote malicious comments and Lee Sang-hoon, a Seoul city council member from the Democratic Party of Korea.

The victim's eldest uncle, Mr. A, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 20th and responded to the question, "Are you considering legal action?" by saying, "Yes. I understand that we will proceed with that (legal action) through a lawyer."

Mr. A expressed that the issue of malicious comments about the victim is serious. He said, "Most people left many positive comments, but there were one or two heartbreaking malicious comments like 'Why would a Han-nyeo die?' It was so painful to see," adding, "I wondered if those people were really citizens who breathe the same air and live in the same space as us."

He then mentioned Councilman Lee's remarks and said, "If I met him, I really want to fight him," expressing his anger. He added, "Even if an ordinary citizen said that, it would be unacceptable, but for a city council member who deals with policies to say such things makes me feel pity in a way," and "It's really pathetic."

Earlier, on the 16th, Councilman Lee referred to the incident during a city council session, saying, "It seems the male employee responded violently because the woman he liked did not accept him." He continued, "What would the parents' feelings be, whether perpetrator or victim?" and "My son is enlisting in the military next Monday, and from a father's perspective, I imagine it would be unbearably heartbreaking."

Regarding the photo of the murderer Jeon Joo-hwan (31) released the day before, Mr. A said, "I was really shocked," and "He has a face you can commonly see around, and it was chilling to realize someone like him exists among us." He also shared the current situation of the bereaved family, saying, "The victim's younger brother and his wife (the victim's parents) are still unable to accept reality and are suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder."

The police disclosed the personal information of Jeon Juhwan (31), who was arrested on charges of murdering a female station attendant in her 20s whom he had been stalking in the women's restroom at Sindang Station in Seoul, on the 19th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also addressed some distorted reports about the relationship between the victim and Jeon Joo-hwan at the beginning of the incident. Mr. A said, "As confirmed now, when they worked at the same station, Jeon Joo-hwan installed a hidden camera in the women's restroom, and my niece (the victim) was the first to discover it and reported it to the police," adding, "The initial report by a daily newspaper suggested that they threatened each other with secretly filmed material in a private space."

He pointed out, "Because of such reports, ordinary people had sensational imaginations or perceptions, which I think led to the outrageous remarks (such as secondary victimization through malicious comments)."

Mr. A also expressed disappointment with the response of Seoul Metro, where the victim and Jeon Joo-hwan worked, saying, "I think the company should have recognized the problem and had management measures in place." He criticized, "The prosecution demanded a 9-year prison sentence a month ago. Despite this being a serious crime committed by a major offender, the company did not revoke his intranet ID and password, allowing him to access the internal intranet without any restrictions, enabling him to easily track the victim's information and movements and use it for crimes. This is a truly painful point."

Finally, Mr. A added, "As the victim's eldest uncle, I cannot replace the parents' feelings in any way, but I hope related organizations, society, and the media leading public opinion will maintain continuous interest and seek solutions so that such incidents never happen again in South Korea."

Meanwhile, the police released the personal information and face photo of the perpetrator Jeon Joo-hwan the day before. Born in 1991, Jeon Joo-hwan joined Seoul Metro in 2018 as the same batch as the victim but was suspended from his position last October after being arrested on charges of coercion in dating, illegal filming, and threats. He was indicted for stalking the victim and was on trial without detention when, on the night of the 14th, about 9 p.m., a day before the first trial verdict, he followed the victim who was patrolling the women's restroom and killed her with a weapon.

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