Stalking indictments skyrocket after legal revisions, but concerns over scope emerge

Recent changes to Korea's stalking law have led to a skyrocketing number of indictments. However, some legal experts worry that the definition of the offense is now so broad that it risks criminalizing everyday behavior.

Recent changes to Korea's stalking law have led to a skyrocketing number of indictments. However, some legal experts worry that the definition of the offense is now so broad that it risks criminalizing everyday behavior.

A total of 5,251 individuals were charged with violating Korea's stalking law between July of last year — when the law was amended — to May of this year, according to data provided by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on Friday.

This equates to an average of 478 monthly cases, a 77.5 percent increase since the law was amended.

The Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking was first enacted in October 2021 to prevent stalking crimes and impose stricter penalties. Previously, stalkers faced meager fines of less than 100,000 won ($73) under the minor offenses law.

However, a public outcry for harsher penalties erupted in September 2022 when a female subway attendant at Sindang Station in central Seoul was brutally murdered by a stalker, her former colleague.

The victim pressed charges against the stalker twice, once in 2021 and again in 2022, but no restraining order was issued.

The fatal stabbing occurred just a day before the court's scheduled sentencing in his stalking case when the 31-year-old former Seoul Metro employee followed the victim into the women's bathroom at the station and stabbed her to death.

In response to this incident, a legal provision that prevented prosecutors from trying cases without the victim's approval was abolished. The scope of stalking crimes was also broadened to include actions such as persistent commenting on the victim's social media and revealing the victim's personal information online.

Additionally, the revision allowed authorities to mandate that suspected stalkers wear ankle monitors even during the investigation and before trial results are finalized.

These changes reflected concerns highlighted by Prof. Lee Seung-jun of Yonsei University's law school, who pointed out that the original act allowed for secondary crimes and had loopholes that offenders could exploit.

However, some worry that the amendment has excessively broadened the interpretation of stalking.

In November, a YouTuber with approximately 200,000 followers was issued a provisional order to maintain a distance of 100 meters from another YouTuber for three months after posting videos defaming the individual.

This order raised questions among the public because, although the act prohibits "uploading or distributing personal information or the location of another on the network," the YouTuber had not directly contacted or visited the complainant.

A chief prosecutor in Seoul with extensive experience handling stalking cases said the act covers a wide range of behavior, and the number of violations has increased exponentially even though the law was enacted less than three years ago.

"Actions not traditionally considered stalking could potentially be considered stalking," the prosecutor explained. "For instance, visiting an upstairs neighbor to complain about noise or a creditor calling a debtor to demand repayment could be deemed stalking."

Kim Dae-guen, a researcher at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, warned that some everyday activities might be misclassified as stalking, emphasizing the need for various precedents to establish more precise definitions.

BY SUK GYEONG-MIN, WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]