Episode 159 Calls and Door 'Bang Bang'... 80-Year-Old Man Stalking Female Singer

Court Sentences 2 Years Imprisonment for Stalking Crime
Also Orders Completion of 40-Hour Stalking Treatment Program

An 80-year-old man who stalked a woman in her 50s, who was active as a singer in the local area, was sentenced to prison by the court. The man obsessively sent messages 159 times.

The Daegu District Court Pohang Branch Criminal Division 1 (Judge Song Byeonghun) sentenced A (86) to two years in prison on the 23rd for violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes. The court also ordered him to complete a 40-hour stalking treatment program.

(This photo is not directly related to the article content) [Photo by Getty Images Bank]

A met the victim B (56), who was active as a local singer, in 2018 and became a fan.

He asked B, who held a caregiver certification, to provide caregiving services, and B worked as A’s caregiver from September 2022 to March 2023.

However, A began to interfere severely, demanding frequent reports about B’s daily activities. B asked A to "stop contacting me."

But A did not accept this. Instead, he sent text messages to B saying, "Quitting the home care center doesn’t mean it’s over. You have to sort things out to finish," and visited B’s home, knocking on the door. From March 3 to June 18, he sent or attempted to call a total of 159 times.

The Daegu District Court Pohang Branch ordered A on March 9 to stop stalking, to stay at least 100 meters away from the victim’s residence and workplace, and to refrain from sending messages to the victim’s phone or email.

However, even after the court’s decision, A sent messages or approached B’s vicinity a total of 26 times.

On the early morning of March 23, A waited about 20 meters from B’s residence in Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, and approached after confirming B was parking his vehicle.

The court explained the sentencing, saying, "Although the defendant is elderly and has no prior criminal record, he committed stalking crimes persistently and obsessively over three months. Especially, he ignored the court’s provisional order, sending messages and loitering around the victim. Considering that no compensation has been made to the victim, the sentence was determined."

The women's restroom at Sindang Station, Jung-gu, Seoul, the site of the stalking murder case
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, starting from the 18th, the 'Stalking Prevention Act' (Act on the Prevention of Stalking and Protection of Victims) was enacted, which includes imposing fines of up to 10 million KRW on those who refuse police investigations at stalking report sites without justifiable reasons.

This law, which defines the prevention of stalking and protection and support of victims as responsibilities of the state and local governments, includes provisions to establish and operate support facilities that provide necessary counseling, medical, and legal assistance to stalking victims or their families. In the future, victims can report incidents to 112 or the Women’s Emergency Hotline (1366) and be connected to support agencies.

This law, which gained attention after the ‘Seoul Sindang Station Stalking Murder Case’ in September 2022, defines the concept of ‘stalking’ by encompassing both ‘stalking acts’ and ‘stalking crimes’ as stipulated in the ‘Stalking Punishment Act.’

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