The Tragic End of Another Neglected Stalking Case

Citizens Remember the Victim: On September 15, citizens write notes in memory of the victim at a memorial space set up in front of the women’s bathroom at Seoul Metro Sindang Station on Line 2, where an employee was killed by her stalker. Mun Jae-won

A metro station employee in her twenties was fatally stabbed in the station bathroom. Her assailant was a colleague at work, who was being tried, but not detained, for stalking. He committed the crime a day before the court ruling. The incident triggered criticism that it ended tragically because of multiple problems, such as the poor response from investigative agencies and the judiciary concerning the stalking victim and the lack of safety measures inside the workplace.

On September 15, the Seoul Jungbu Police Station requested an arrest warrant for Jeon (31), an employee at the Seoul Metro, on the charge of murder.

Jeon allegedly followed A (28) when she was patrolling the bathroom in the Line 2 Sindang Station and stabbed her to death around 9 p.m. September 14. Wearing a disposable hygiene cap, Jeon waited for A at Sindang Station for an hour and ten minutes to carry out the crime.

Jeon and A were colleagues who both joined the Seoul Metro in December 2018. The following year, Jeon asked A out on a date, but was refused, and since then, he had been stalking A constantly. Jeon was arrested on the scene the day after A filed a complaint against him for violating the Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act at the Seoul Seobu Police Station last October. The day after the arrest, the police requested a warrant for Jeon, but the court dismissed the request on grounds that Jeon had a fixed residence, and that he posed no risk of destroying evidence or fleeing from the law. The police notified the Seoul Metro that they were launching an investigation, and Jeon was removed from his position on October 13, 2021. His victim, who had been working in the same station, was transferred to another station.

However, Jeon did not stop stalking A. A filed an additional accusation against Jeon for violating the act on the punishment of stalking on January 27. The police did not request an arrest warrant when they received the second accusation. Jeon’s charges were recognized, and he was sent to court twice in February and July. The two cases were merged and the court ruling on the case was scheduled on Thursday. The prosecutor had asked for a nine-year prison sentence for Jeon, but A was murdered on the eve of the ruling. Jeon’s court ruling has been postponed to September 29.

The incident has led to criticism that the state failed to protect the victim from Jeon’s crime, since the court dismissed the first warrant request, and the police failed to request the warrant the second time.

The victim did not receive proper protection, either. After submitting her first complaint, the police conducted safety measures for a month, registering the victim in the 112-protection system. They explained that they did not enforce temporary bans, provide a smart watch, or make related patrols because the victim did not want them.

A police representative explained, “If the danger is still present when the safety measures are terminated, the police have the authority to re-examine the case,” but said, “There were no particular issues when safety measures were enforced (in this case), and the victim did not want the measures to be extended so we stopped (after a month).”

Some voices pointed out the poor management of employee safety at Seoul Metro, the victim’s workplace. An official from the Seoul Metro said, “The latest incident also involves the failure to guarantee the safety of the employee in the workplace.” He continued and said, “We don’t have any separate guidelines on safety when patrolling the station,” and explained, “Two station employees are assigned in each of the 150 stations in each shift, but when we respond to public requests and complaints, eventually, we end up patrolling the station alone.”

■ Prime Minister Han Asks Ministries for “Strong Measures to Prevent Similar Incidents”

Female Workers Who Read, a group in the Seoul Metro labor union, released a statement and argued, “This case is one involving gender violence aimed at women and a case where a worker was robbed of her right to work safely,” and held the Seoul Metro responsible.

At the same time, the group pointed out that the company did not properly protect the victim of sexual violence in the workplace and did not assign the minimum personnel necessary for a joint response in case the employee unexpectedly found herself in a dangerous situation while on duty.

The police believe Jeon premeditated the crime for a long time to take revenge on A. The police representative said, “We have requested related investigation records,” and added, “We plan to apply the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes if we confirm that this was a crime of revenge.”

The Seoul Metro released a statement on its position describing the details of the case and said, “We will seek ways to enhance the safety of station employees during late-night shifts,” and said they were currently discussing details of the funeral with the victim’s family.

On September 15, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo spoke on the fatal stalking case and made an urgent request to relevant ministries for strong measures to prevent the repeat of similar incidents, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination.