Stalk Reports In South Korea Experience A 70 Percent Surge

South Korean illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/kallerna)

JAKARTA - South Korea has seen a surge in surveillance reports of more than 70 percent in the last two years, although the government has imposed stricter anti-scattering laws.

Meanwhile, the percentage of protection measures provided by the court to the victim continues to decline every year.

Data from the Ministry of Justice received by DPR member Jeon Hyun-heui from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly's Legislation and Justice Committee on Sunday stated that the number of reported stalking cases increased to 13,269 last year, as reported by The Korea Times on September 8.

Cases reported under anti-strict laws have risen sharply, from 406 cases between October and December 2021 to 7,626 in 2022 and 10,438 in 2023. Between 2022 and 2024, reported stalking cases jumped about 1.7 times. Meanwhile, as of July this year, the number has reached 7,981 cases.

The Law on the Crime of Monitoring took effect in October 2021, marking major changes in the way the violations were handled.

Previously, it was considered a minor offense that often led to light sentences, stalking was now punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won (Rp. 357,552,600).

In 2023, the South Korean National Assembly revised the law to intensify the stalking penalty by removing a controversial clause that would allow the perpetrators to avoid criminal charges if the victim did not give consent.

The tweet has become a serious social problem in Korea, with many cases increasing to murder after it began with constant harassment.

On the other hand, despite the spike in cases of stalking and the severity of crime, the court agrees less protection measures for victims every year.

Interim measures - such as warnings to prevent stalking, relocation of victims to protection facilities, and a ban on approaching victims within 100 meters or contacting them electronically - decreased every year.

The court's level of approval of the public prosecutor's request for emergency action decreased from 98.4 percent in the last three months of 2021 to 98.1 percent in 2022, 97.9 percent in 2023, and 95.8 percent in 2024, which then fell again to 93.3 percent as of July this year.

Approval of requests submitted by judicial police also decreased, from 94.1 percent in 2022 to 92.2 percent in 2024.

On the other hand, the level of court approval at the request of the public prosecutor for temporary action remained stagnant at around 84 percent during the same period.

Jeon stressed that it was the negligence of the court's duty to hesitate to take action while the victims, who desperately needed help, remained vulnerable to the threat of stalking, and urged stronger action to ensure more active protection.