In 2019, Jinju arson killer Ahn In-deuk is walking in front of the 18-year-old high school student Choi Mo-yang. KBS news capture
#Five women, including high school students, were murdered in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do in 2019. The killer was a man who lived in the same apartment. This is Ahn In-deuk, known as’Pearl Arson Killer. Ahn In-deuk stalked Choi Mo-yang, 18, who lives in the upper house for more than half a year, and stated that she committed the crime because she thought that she had been ignored by the residents when access to Choi was not available.
At that time, Yang’s family gathered evidence and submitted it to the police, such as installing CCTV in front of the house. However, the police said, “I did not directly assault and there are no specific cases of damage, so I cannot punish it.” A month after the report, Ahn In-deuk murdered five women, including Choi Yang.
According to statistics from the National Police Agency last year, stalking crimes continued to increase from 312 in 2013 to 363 in 2015, 544 in 2018, and 583 in 2019. However, stalking reports and arrest rates are not high. Because of this, it is estimated that crimes that do not appear above the water will be more frequent.
Passed the National Assembly after 22 years of the’Stalking Penalty Act’
The crime of stalking is now clearly defined and the person who commits this crime can be punished. The stalking punishment law was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 24th. It has been 22 years since it was first discussed at the 15th National Assembly in 1999. In the meantime, even if stalking was done, it was classified as’continuous harassment’ under the Minor Crimes Penalty Act, and the penalty was less than 100,000 won. This was the same level as the punishment for urination on the street.
In the Stalking Penalty Act,’stalking’ is defined as ▶contrary to the intention of the other party ▶without justifiable reasons ▶by approaching or following the other party or his/her domestic partner or family ▶, and causing anxiety or fear. In the future, for continuous or repeated stalking, imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won, and for using dangerous objects such as weapons, imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Upon receiving a report of stalking, the police must go to the scene and take emergency measures such as restraining or restraining access. Also included in the bill was the designation of a prosecutor and police officer in charge of stalking crime. “The most anticipated thing is that the police can no longer ignore reports of victims,” said Lee Soo-jung, a professor of criminal psychology at Gyeonggi University.
Professor Lee continued, “Once the report is made, the police have to investigate, so you will be able to know what purpose you are standing at the door, etc.” Added.
Illustration not related to the article. JoongAng Ilbo
However, controversy over the effectiveness of the stalking punishment law remains. On the 24th, the Korean Women’s Telephone side made a comment and said, “According to the law, stalking can only be recognized as a crime if it is continuously or repeatedly performed.” “It is a force to feel like a victim to admit it as damage only when you feel fear and anxiety.”
In addition, the current legislation guarantees the effectiveness of protecting victims and guaranteeing human rights such as the continuation of the anti-intentional punishment clause that blocks the victim’s mouth, the lack of an order to protect victims that victims can apply directly to the court, and inadequate support systems for victims’ daily recovery. It is difficult to do,” he criticized.
Experts “Amend the bill and develop it gradually”
Anti-physical punishment means that if the victim expresses his intention that he does not want to punish the perpetrator, he cannot punish it. Seung Jae-hyun, a member of the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, said, “In the case of anti-government crimes, it is applied to minor crimes, which shows that the severity of crimes against which the state still views stalking is low.” “There should be some positive aspects, but there is a lot of potential for abuse. There should be a treatment program that can cut off the link between the victim and the perpetrator and correct the perpetrator’s behavior regardless of the victim’s intentions.
Commissioner Seung also suggested that “the law on the name of the law on stalking punishment and victim protection should also be amended,” and “the essence of this legislation is to protect victims while punishing stalking.”
Reporter Jeong Hee-yoon [email protected]
