In Seoul, a woman was murdered in the Subway. Koreans are blaming the country’s stalking laws.
The attacker had been harassing her for over two years.
Last October, she reported him for harassment. Last week, he followed her after she finished her shift, and stabbed her to death. The murder of the 28-year-old employee of Seoul Metro has sparked outrage, and led many to question the country’s way of handling stalkers.
The alleged attacker, 31-year-old Jeon Joo-hwan, began harassing the victim, whose name has been kept private, in 2019. They were colleagues at the Seoul metro. He called her over 300 times, begging her to go out with him, and threatening to hurt her if she didn’t. She reported him to management, and he was fired and arrested last October. Despite a police investigation, Jeon was never imprisoned or given a restraining order. The victim was given one month’s police protection, and then left to deal with the matter on her own, awaiting the court’s verdict.
In the meantime, Jeon continued to stalk and threaten the victim. Last week, he waited for an hour outside the toilets of her office, wearing gloves and a disposable shower cap, then he followed her inside and killed her. It was the day before he was due to appear in court and be sentenced for stalking.
