Woman was killed by ex-colleague at subway station. He was also her stalker.

The ladies toilet sign at Sindang Station in Seoul(Yonhap)

A man has been arrested for killing a female subway attendant at Sindang Station at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police on Thursday.

The suspect, in his 30s, is a former colleague and stalker of the victim. He is alleged to have waited for nearly an hour at the station while wearing a sanitary cap and followed the victim into the ladies’ toilet before he killed her with a weapon.

The woman, in her 20s, suffered a cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The two were once colleagues at Seoul Metro but the man was later stripped of his job after being accused of stalking the ex-colleague and spycam voyeurism.

He was sued by the victim twice, once last year and this year, though no restraining order had been issued.

The fatal attack occurred a day before the court’s scheduled sentencing on the two cases. Police said they are looking to determine whether it was an act of retaliation.

Multiple media outlets have also reported that an arrest warrant requested earlier by prosecutors against the man was rejected by a court, drawing criticism from women on social media.

The word "misogyny" trended among South Korean Twitter users on Thursday as they expressed shock at the news.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, feminist activist group Team Haeil said the killing is a “misogyny crime” and called for a swift investigation and a severe punishment.

According to police data, reports of stalking nearly tripled last year – from 4,515 cases in 2020 to 14,509.

Over 16,500 cases were reported between January and July this year, already surpassing last year’s figure.

By Yim Hyun-su(hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)