Taking Phones, Blocking Family? 'Red Flags' Hidden in Court Rulings

[Anchor]

Cases where such relational crimes escalate to murder continue to occur nationwide. Experts point out that the police's response method must change from the ground up. They emphasize that instead of taking a complacent approach based solely on a victim's statement that they do not wish for punishment, authorities must also evaluate the risk indicators and prior warning signs exhibited by the perpetrator.

Reporter Yeo Hyeon-gyo has more in the following report.

[Reporter]

On October 13 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, a woman in her 60s was murdered by her estranged husband, who was under a provisional stalking injunction. Just a day prior in Jeju, a woman in her 40s was killed by a weapon brandished by her former romantic partner.

The victim had reported the male perpetrator four times for stalking and dating violence, but the police closed the cases on the grounds that the woman did not want to press charges again.

This is a carbon copy of the dating murder case in Daejeon that occurred on October 24.

Between 2023 and last month, roughly 1 out of every 5 murder cases was preceded by prior violence or stalking by the same perpetrator.

Warning signs had already sounded beforehand, yet authorities failed to stop them.

Experts point out that in cases of relational crimes, authorities must keep in mind that the victim may not be completely severed psychologically and emotionally from the perpetrator.

[Park Yoon-hee / Attorney (Former prosecutor at the Women and Children Crimes Investigation Department): A victim's reluctance to punish and the perpetrator's risk of reoffending are entirely separate issues. In 2023, the Stalking Punishment Act was amended to allow the punishment of perpetrators even if the victim does not want them punished....]

They argue that close attention must be paid to the warning signs that appear in relational crimes.

An analysis of some 200 rulings on dating murders revealed that prior to the crimes, perpetrators coercively controlled the victims' mobile phones and daily lives, or cut off their relationships with family and friends.

[Kim Sung-hee / Professor, Graduate School of Forensic Science, Soonchunhyang University: I think it is time for the questioning by police to change somewhat. We view coercive control—such as controlling daily life while dating or living together with the perpetrator—as aspects that must be closely monitored in relational crimes.]

With the aim of preventing relational crimes in advance, a bill to amend the law was proposed at the National Assembly today, adding controlling behaviors such as mobile phone monitoring to the types of stalking.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Lim Woo-sik, Video editing: Kim Yoon-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.