Growing Fear Over Repeated Rejection of Warrants for Stalking Offenders... Calls for Introduction of 'Conditional Release'

Court Detention Warrant Rejection Rate in the 10% Range
Provisional Measure No. 4 Also Only One Week Detention
Need for 'Conditional Release System' Including Residential Restrictions

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Despite the ‘Sindang Station stalking murder case,’ arrest warrants for stalkers continue to be repeatedly dismissed by the courts. Experts point out that to prevent secondary victimization, it is urgent to thoroughly separate perpetrators and victims and to improve laws and systems that protect victims.

On the 22nd, the Seoul Eastern District Court dismissed the arrest warrant for a man in his 20s, Mr. A, who went to find a woman he was stalking while carrying scissors, citing no risk of flight or evidence tampering. However, the court approved all four provisional measures (Orders 1 to 4) requested by the police. On the 19th, the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul arrested Mr. A on suspicion of going to a restaurant where the victim was eating and throwing food at her while holding scissors. Although Mr. A had continuously stalked the victim before the incident, the court judged the actual risk of harm to be low. Similarly, on the 21st, the Jinju branch of the Changwon District Court dismissed the arrest warrant for Mr. B, a man in his 20s accused of violating the Stalking Punishment Act, trespassing, and assault, for the same reasons.

Currently, the court’s arrest warrant dismissal rate is about 10%. The dismissal rate for warrants was 13.6%, and including releases through detention review, it rises to 14.5%. Judicial authorities state that they intend to prevent further crimes through the approval of provisional measures, including detention. However, even the strongest provisional measure, Order 4 (detention in a jail cell), is lifted after one week, making it difficult to effectively separate perpetrators and victims. Although arrest is possible if provisional measures are violated, this usually occurs after the incident, so actual prevention of harm is difficult.

Even When Provisional Measures Are Violated... Punishment Levels Such as Suspended Sentences Are Low

The penalties for those who violate provisional measures are also low. In May, Mr. C, in his 30s, who was tried for violating provisional measures nine times, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence and fined 100,000 won, which was the entirety of the punishment. In response, the Supreme Court has proposed introducing a ‘conditional release system’ to replace detention under certain conditions.

The conditional release system includes ▲residence restrictions ▲attachment of location tracking devices ▲payment of a security deposit. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France have already implemented this system. The Korean Bar Association urged, "When courts dismiss arrest warrants for stalking crimes, proactive public authority intervention is necessary, such as restricting the perpetrator’s activity range and attaching electronic location tracking devices to enable active monitoring," calling for the consideration of a conditional release system. Experts demand supplementing the criteria for issuing arrest warrants with concerns such as ‘risk of harm’ and ‘risk of retaliation,’ and establishing additional measures to reduce judges’ psychological burden regarding detention. Song Ranhee, Executive Director of Korea Women’s Hotline, stated, "The issuance of arrest warrants must include ‘risk of harm’ and ‘risk of retaliation.’ Especially, concerns about retaliation against victims should be prioritized in judgments on crimes of violence against women."

The dismissal of arrest warrants is also increasing the burden on the police. Officers in women and youth divisions and criminal investigation units at frontline police stations say that 24-hour monitoring has its limits. A police official said, "In the case of provisional measure Order 4, once the period ends, the perpetrator can live freely, which significantly increases the risk level," adding, "If we do not stay close to the victim, there is a time gap when responding to incidents." Another officer added, "There is a severe shortage of staff responsible for case reception, investigation, and monitoring," and "Stalking crimes require meticulous investigation, so they take a long time."

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