Court Suspends Sentence for High School Girl Violating Temporary Stalking Restraining Order on Contact and Approach

Court.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A female teacher who stalked a fellow teacher and received a provisional court order for 'prohibition of approach and contact' was given a suspended sentence with a fine.

According to the legal community on the 13th, Judge Oh Myung-hee of the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 3 granted a suspended sentence with a fine of 3 million KRW to teacher A (29, female), who was indicted for violating the provisional measures under the Stalking Punishment Act and theft charges.

A suspended sentence is a ruling that postpones the sentencing of relatively minor crimes punishable by imprisonment or detention of up to one year, disqualification, or fines for a certain period, and if two years pass without further offenses, the sentence is considered dismissed, thus exempting the defendant from sentencing.

Judge Oh stated, "The defendant was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offense, impairing her ability to distinguish things, the violation of the provisional order occurred only once, and the defendant does not wish to be punished. Considering these and other sentencing factors, the sentence is suspended."

A, who works as a teacher at a school in Sejong City, received a provisional order from the court in February, prohibiting her from approaching within 100 meters of or contacting fellow teacher B (28) at B’s residence or workplace for two months due to stalking crimes.

Nevertheless, on the morning of February 18, A is accused of violating the provisional order by sending a text message to B via mobile phone.

Additionally, on the early morning of February 12, A is accused of visiting B’s residence, opening a delivery box placed at the front door, and stealing groceries.

A was also indicted for continuously and repeatedly stalking B by leaving comments expressing affection on B’s blog, sending messages, and visiting B’s home, but the stalking charges were dismissed as B submitted a letter of no prosecution to the court.

Article 18 (Stalking Crimes) Paragraph 1 of the Stalking Punishment Act states, "A person who commits stalking crimes shall be punished by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW," but Paragraph 3 stipulates, "Prosecution cannot be initiated against the will of the victim who has clearly expressed their intention," thus classifying stalking crimes as offenses requiring the victim’s consent to prosecute.

Meanwhile, Article 8 (Request for Provisional Measures) of the Stalking Punishment Act allows prosecutors to request provisional measures under Article 9 Paragraph 1 of the same law either ex officio or upon application by judicial police officers when there is a recognized risk of recurrence of stalking crimes. (Article 8 Paragraph 1)

Victims or their legal representatives may request prosecutors to apply for provisional measures or ask judicial police officers to apply for such measures. (Article 8 Paragraph 2)

Article 9 (Provisional Measures Against Stalking Offenders) Paragraph 1 lists the types of provisional measures the court may impose on stalking offenders: ▲a written warning to stop stalking crimes against the victim (Item 1) ▲prohibition of approach within 100 meters of the victim or their residence (Item 2) ▲prohibition of contact using telecommunications as defined in Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Telecommunications Business Act (Item 3) ▲detention in a police station’s detention center or jail (Item 4).

Paragraph 2 stipulates that "the provisional measures in each item of Paragraph 1 may be combined," allowing multiple provisional measures to be imposed simultaneously.

If the court’s provisional order prohibiting approach (Item 2) or contact (Item 3) is violated, under Article 20 (Crime of Noncompliance with Provisional Measures) of the same law, the offender is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.

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