"Give Me Back the Condolence Money I Paid"…KakaoTalk Bombardment to Colleagues After Dismissal

Continued Contact After Dismissal for Workplace Harassment and Sexual Harassment
Court: "It Is Stalking"... 10 Months Imprisonment and 2 Years Probation

A man in his 30s who was fired for workplace harassment and sexual harassment and persistently contacted former colleagues demanding the return of congratulatory and condolence money he had given was sentenced to prison for stalking.

On the 17th, Judge Seo Sujeong of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 20 announced that A, recently indicted for violating the Stalking Punishment Act, was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a 2-year probation. Along with this, A was also ordered to undergo probation and attend 40 hours of lectures on preventing recidivism of stalking crimes.

A was prosecuted for sending a total of 210 KakaoTalk messages and other communications over about four months to four former colleagues after being notified of dismissal in April 2022 from a corporation due to sexual harassment and workplace bullying. He is known to have persistently contacted some former colleagues regarding congratulatory and condolence money, saying things like, "Isn't it shameful as an adult to not even give the promised family congratulations and money?" and "I gave 100,000 won as a token of condolence at the funeral, so aren't you supposed to return it?"

A also sent messages such as, "Under civil law, congratulatory and condolence money claims should be repaid with the amount given. It is a loan," and "Manager XX returned the birthday gift money cleanly when asked, quite different." After being dismissed, he sent messages to the victims threatening to come pick up a package mistakenly sent to the company address and warned that he would sue if the items were touched. He also sent photos of himself visiting the company where the victim’s wife works.

During the trial, A argued that contacting two victims only 7 to 8 times each did not constitute stalking due to lack of repetition and continuity.

However, the court judged that A’s actions constituted stalking, noting that the message contents attacked the victims and that he even obtained and contacted their family members, causing anxiety and fear. Regarding sentencing, the court explained, "The victims appear to have suffered significant mental shock, pain, anxiety, and fear," and "considered that A was not forgiven by the victims."

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