Lee Su-jeong: "Jeon Ju-hwan, Did He Commit Premeditated Murder and Do Crazy Things? No Sincerity"

"The Safest Victim Protection Is Monitoring, Punishing, and Detaining Offenders"
Calls to Abolish the Consent Requirement for Prosecution in Stalking Crimes

Suspect Jeon Juhwan in the 'Sindang Station Stalking Murder' case is being transferred from the Namdaemun Police Station detention center in Jung-gu, Seoul to the prosecution on the 21st. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University criticized the police announcement that the motive of Jeon Ju-hwan (31), the suspect in the Sindang Station stalking murder case, was 'resentment,' saying, "How can the police not even distinguish between resentment and grudge?" and called it "very regrettable."

Professor Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Match' on the 21st and criticized, "He killed someone with a cold-blooded judgment and a grudge with the intent to kill." She pointed out, "The victim reported Jeon Ju-hwan for illegal filming with a camera and later reported stalking. Jeon Ju-hwan responded with a grudge to everything that happened between 2018 and 2022 when this incident occurred, but suddenly he is reducing it to resentment related only to the trial and claiming it as the motive for the crime."

Professor Lee continued, "During the police investigation, an investigator asked, 'Did you kill because of resentment?' and the suspect admitted it, so it seems the motive was announced as 'killed because of resentment.' Even if the suspect says so, the police should not brief the media in that way. In the end, it becomes a target of resentment," she pointed out.

She added, "Is the current police briefing method, which simply briefs the media with the suspect's self-defensive statements as they are, appropriate? The nuance changes completely with just one word, and it seems to promote the wrong notion that stalking is an extension of courtship behavior. I felt sorry when I saw today's announcement," she explained.

On the same day, before being sent to the prosecution, Jeon Ju-hwan said in front of reporters, "I'm sorry. I really did a crazy thing." Regarding this, Professor Lee said, "It felt hollow," and evaluated, "He should be apologizing to the victim, but it felt like he was saying, 'From my perspective, this incident itself is regrettable,' so it lacked sincerity." She also said, "It was a very meticulous and rationally planned murder, so I don't understand why he says now that he did a 'crazy thing.'"

Professor Lee also pointed out, "He seems to see the (female) victim as the starting point of some problem that put him in this state," and said, "He has no insight into what he did at all." She continued, "He committed illegal acts, stalked, threatened people, and said he would kill, and eventually reached this state, but it sounds like he is blaming the victim, which is very inappropriate."

Regarding Minister Kim Hyun-sook of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's remark that "the outcome would have been different if the victim had received protection and support from the Ministry," Professor Lee said, "I find it hard to agree." She explained, "I don't think the victim died because she was not thoroughly protected. What good is pressing a smartwatch? The victim pressed the emergency bell in the women's restroom and resisted desperately at the last moment, but it takes more than five minutes for the police to arrive at the scene." She added, "The safest way to protect victims is to monitor, punish, and detain the perpetrator. Leaving it only to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family could lead to more foolish sacrifices, and ultimately the Ministry of Justice and the courts must act," advocating for the abolition of the non-prosecution agreement in cases of victim withdrawal of complaint.

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