Seoul Metro "Sindang Station Stalking Murder Unusual, Prevention Difficult"... Denies Responsibility

In a lawsuit filed by the family of the victim killed by Jeon Ju-hwan, the ‘Sindang Station stalking murderer,’ against Jeon Ju-hwan and Seoul Metro, Seoul Metro argued that "murder is an extremely rare event, making it practically difficult to prevent."

Stalking murderer Jeon Joo-hwan at Sindang Station. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Civil Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Chang-mo) held the first hearing on the damages claim lawsuit filed by the family of the Sindang Station murder victim against Jeon Ju-hwan and Seoul Metro on the 15th.

Since civil lawsuits do not require the parties to appear in person, the trial proceeded with only the representatives of the family and the corporation present.

On this day, the family’s side claimed, "Seoul Metro failed to properly manage personal information, allowing Jeon Ju-hwan to learn the location where the victim worked."

Additionally, the family argued, "Despite Jeon Ju-hwan being under disciplinary action at the time, no special measures were taken," and "Seoul Metro failed to fulfill its duty to protect safety by, for example, having the victim patrol the women’s restroom alone."

In response, Seoul Metro stated, "Jeon Ju-hwan concealed the fact that he was under disciplinary action and searched the integrated information system (SM ERP). Compared to verbal abuse or assault, intentional murder is extremely rare, making it practically difficult to prevent."

Jeon Ju-hwan killed a female victim, who was a colleague at Seoul Metro, with a weapon in the women’s restroom at Sindang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 on September 14, 2022. At the time, Jeon Ju-hwan had been suspended due to stalking crimes but retained his status as a Seoul Metro employee, allowing him to access the internal network to check the victim’s address and work information and plan the crime, according to investigations.

The family filed a lawsuit demanding that Seoul Metro compensate a total of over 1 billion KRW along with Jeon Ju-hwan, arguing that Seoul Metro did not lawfully handle the victim’s personal information and failed to fulfill its duty to protect safety as an employer. Jeon Ju-hwan’s next trial is scheduled for May 3.

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