On October 21^st, a man in Gwangju his 20s was charged with visiting his ex-girlfriend's house and making a commotion after his ex-girlfriend continued to refuse to meet him. Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station announced on November 2^nd that it plans to send the man to be prosecuted. This is the first case of the Anti-Stalking Law, which took effect on October 21^st. The Anti-Stalking Law was enacted in March 2021 after passing the National Assembly for the first time in 22 years since its first proposal in 1999, as stalking issues continue to cause a lot of social controversies. It was enacted to protect stalking crime victims and received much attention in that it reflected the social perception that stalking crimes should be regarded as serious crimes rather than just misdemeanors. However, despite the enactment of the Anti-Stalking Law after much effort, people are currently concerned about its loopholes. Then, what exactly does the Anti-Stalking Law contain, and why are people expressing their concerns? Let's learn more about this.

Stalking Problems that Are Prevalent in Korean Society

         In March 2021, a man in his 20s murdered a mother and her two daughters in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and gave a huge shock to our society. The man, who the victim met playing online games, was found to have been stalking the victim since January, and the stalking eventually led to murder on March 23^rd, killing the victim, the victim's sister, and the victim's mother. According to Kukminilbo on April 1^st, the victim expressed anxiety and fear at the time of stalking, saying "The man visits me even though I never told my home address," "I'm really scared," and "I always take a roundabout way when I go home." In addition to these cases where stalking crimes led to more serious crimes and have risen to the surface, stalking crimes are prevalent in our society. In fact, according to data that Justice Party member Lee Eun-ju received from the National Police Agency in 2020, the number of stalking crime reports from 2018 to 2020 was 2,772, 5,468, and 4,515, respectively. It was also common for so-called sasaeng fans[1] to stalk celebrities, such as attaching location tracking devices to vehicles, installing hidden cameras on gifts, and going to their accommodations. On August 20^th, girl group Apink member Jeong Eun-ji said malicious stalking has continued since March and she eventually filed a complaint against the perpetrator. Previously, the perpetrator was asked not to approach several times, but the perpetrator ignored it and came to her home. Jeong Eun-ji expressed the damage on her social media on July 21^st, saying, "There are people coming to the front of the house these days, so people around are also suffering." As such, stalking issues have been the subject of controversy in our society for quite a long time.

What Is Anti-Stalking Law?

          In the social background where stalking problems are prevalent, the necessity to enact the Anti-Stalking Law has been steadily raised. It was in 1999 that the Anti-Stalking Law was first proposed in Korea. However, it continued to fail to pass the National Assembly. Eventually, stalking was classified as "continuous harassment", and the stalker was punished only by detention, and fines of up to 100,000 won under the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act. As the law did not separately specify the protection of victims and the punishment was insignificant, the stalking often continued. This was the result of the social perception that viewed stalking as a misdemeanor. However, stalking crimes have constantly occurred in our society, and voices have emerged that stalking should be viewed as a serious crime. With this change in social perception, on March 24^th, the Anti-Stalking Law finally passed the National Assembly. It was enacted 22 years after the Anti-Stalking Law was first proposed. Since the passage of the National Assembly, the Anti-Stalking Law took effect on October 21^st.

          Article 2 of the Anti-Stalking Law defines what "stalking behavior" is. Basically, “stalking” is a specific behavior contrary to the will of the other person and evokes anxiety and fear. These are the specific behaviors: first, "an act of approaching, following, or blocking the path," second, "an act of waiting or watching in or near a place of residence, workplace, school, or other daily life," third, "the act of sending writings, videos, etc. using mail, telephone, or the Internet, etc." fourth, "the act of bringing objects, etc. directly or through another person, or placing objects, etc. in or near housing, etc." and fifth, "the act of damaging objects placed in or near a residence". "Stalking behavior" must be carried out continuously or repeatedly to be validated as a "stalking crime". If a stalking crime is committed, the perpetrator can be sentenced to up to three years in prison or fined up to 30 million won (about $25,000). If weapons are used, additional punishment of imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won (about $42,000) can be given.

Concerns Toward Anti-Stalking Law

Punishment Is Impossible If the Victim Doesn't Want It

         However, there are voices of concern about the Anti-Stalking Law. The most representative criticism of it is that stalking crimes have been defined as an offense unpunishable over objection. Article 18 paragraph 3 of the Anti-Stalking Law stipulates that "the crime under paragraph 1 cannot be prosecuted against the intention specifically stated by the victim." “The crime under paragraph 1” here means a stalking crime. Due to this clause, it is impossible to punish the perpetrator of the stalking crime if the victim does not want to. The reason why such an offense unpunishable over objection is a problem is that victims of stalking crimes may not want to pursue punishment for fear of retaliation. In particular, if the perpetrator is an acquaintance, the fear of retaliation can increase. In addition, if the stalking case is not handled quickly, the perpetrator can continue to chase the victim and demand or threaten to make an agreement or withdraw the complaint, and the victim can eventually withdraw the complaint against the perpetrator out of fear. According to the Seoul Shinmun on September 3^rd, a lawyer of Keungil Joint Law Office, Lee Soo-yeon said, "The reason for making stalking an offense unpunishable over objection can be found in the respect of the victim's will, but it is basically because it’s not considered as a serious crime. […] Since the perpetrator's request for non-punishment may cause new damage, and the victims may unwillingly express their intention to not punish the perpetrator, the offense unpunishable over objection clause should be deleted.” Eventually, defining stalking crimes as an offense unpunishable over objection not only does not correspond to the purpose of enacting Anti-Stalking Law to protect victims of stalking crimes but can also lead to even more serious crimes.

Flaws of Standards for Stalking

          The second problem many people point out is that the Anti-Stalking Law has flaws in the standards for stipulating stalking behavior and stalking crimes. First, looking at the problem of the stalking behavior standard, the Anti-Stalking Law categorized stalking behavior into a total of the five types mentioned above. This means that a specific action cannot be regarded as a stalking behavior unless it falls under the five types specified in the Anti-Stalking Law. For example, the perpetrator's act of forcing the victim to have a relationship or visit is not included, so punishment under the Anti-Stalking Law is impossible for that. Accordingly, Han Min-kyung, a professor at the Korean National Police University, said, "It is difficult to properly respond to various types of stalking by listing only five types of stalking as it is now. […] By presenting all types of stalking through the revision of the law, the legislative purpose of the Anti-Stalking Law to punish and prevent stalking should be clearly revealed." The problem is also at the standard for "stalking crimes." Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Anti-Stalking Law stipulates "stalking crimes" as "continuous or repetitive stalking behavior." In response, many people point out that the words "continuous" and "repetitive" are unclear. They ask how the word “continuous” and “repetitive” can be interpreted. If the standards for defining stalking crimes are unclear, the subjective judgment of the interpreter may be involved. Eventually, arbitrary interpretation of stalking crimes becomes possible. In fact, according to Aju Business Daily on September 27^th, lawyer Kim Jung-chul, of the law firm Wooree, pointed out, "It is said that continuous or repetitive stalking behavior is a crime but the interpretation is still ambiguous.”

Additional Measures Are Needed to Protect Victims!

          The Anti-Stalking Law focuses more on punishing perpetrators of stalking crimes, and protection measures for victims are insufficient. As a result, there are voices calling for separate measures to protect victims. The current law stipulated emergency and provisional measures as protective measures for victims. Emergency measures include a prohibition of access within 100 meters and prohibition of sending text messages, and provisional measures include documentary warnings related to the suspension of stalking crimes and imprisonment. However, these measures can last up to six months, and measures can be taken only when the victim reports the fact of stalking to the investigative agency. In addition, the Anti-Stalking Law does not include orders to protect victims that the victim can apply directly to the court, and measures to help the victim recover to their daily lives are insufficient. Eventually, there are certain limitations in protecting the victim. In fact, on October 19^th, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea Jung Choun-sook said, "We initially enacted a law that included punishment of perpetrators and protection of victims, but the contents of protection were omitted during the enactment process."

          As the Anti-Stalking Law was criticized as a "half legislation", the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family began to prepare follow-up legislation. Now, they are preparing a bill focusing on "protection" rather than "punishment". The new law to protect stalking crime victims proposed by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family included “matters concerning the responsibilities of the state and local governments to prevent and support stalking”, “conducting stalking surveys and preventive education”, “prohibiting disadvantages in the workplace for stalking victims”, and “support for stalking victims”. According to YTN News on October 31^st, Chae Myung-sook, head of the Women’s and Youth Rights Protection Division of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "We have prepared the groundwork for the agency supporting domestic and sexual violence victims to support stalking crime victims to prevent stalking and protect victims." The new law to protect stalking crime victims was announced on November 11^th. After at least 40 days of the legislative notice period, it will be reviewed by the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee, Legislation & Judiciary Committee. It is expected to be referred to the plenary session of the National Assembly around the first half of next year.

Stalking has been continuously controversial in our society, and as a result, the Anti-Stalking Law passed the National Assembly 22 years after its initial proposal and took effect on October 21^st, 2021. However, problems have been pointed out that the Anti-Stalking Law currently defines stalking crimes as an offense unpunishable over objection, and that there are flaws in the standards for stalking behaviors and crimes. In addition, as the law focuses on punishing perpetrators, voices emerged that there was a lack of content on victim protection. Stalking crimes are likely to lead to more serious crimes if they are not resolved in the early stages. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement the current concerns through appropriate revisions to eradicate stalking crimes. According to NBN TV on October 21^st, a police official said, "We are checking various situations to minimize trials and errors that may occur at the site in the early stages of the law's enforcement. […] While operating a consulting team centered on the Korean National Police Agency and police stations, we will do our best to establish the system by checking and supplementing any deficiencies in policy measures.” CAH hopes that the Anti-Stalking Law will be of great help in eradicating stalking crimes through appropriate supplementations and additional protective measures.