1 in 5 murders commited by domestic violence, stalking or sex crimes

Nearly 1 in 5 murder cases recorded in South Korea since 2023 involved a perpetrator who had previously committed domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or sexual violence, police data showed Monday.

Of the 2,760 murder cases recorded from 2023 through September this year, 543 involved such prior offenses by the same perpetrator. The National Police Agency data was released by Rep. Kim Nam-hee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The proportion remained close to 20 percent throughout the period.

Recent killings have highlighted gaps in protection for victims of stalking and domestic violence, as well as their families.

In a case on Jeju Island, a man in his 60s is accused of fatally stabbing his former girlfriend on Oct. 12. The woman had reported him to police four times between October last year and May, alleging stalking, sexual violence and dating violence.

Police said the reports ended in warnings or were closed after she declined to give statements or said the issues had been resolved. She had been given a smartwatch and a personal alarm last month, but the measures failed to prevent her death.

In another case, Kim Sung-woo, 26, is accused of killing his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife in Seoul on Oct. 11. His wife was pursuing a lawsuit to annul their marriage.

Police said Kim had stalked his wife 18 times before the attack. Nine of those incidents occurred while a court order barring him from approaching her was in effect.

On Sept. 1, a man in his 30s allegedly killed his wife in front of their 5-year-old daughter while the couple was going through divorce proceedings. He had previously been accused of domestic violence against her.

A court had rejected a request for his arrest, citing a lack of flight risk or risk of evidence destruction.

Rep. Kim plans to propose an amendment to the law on stalking to explicitly cover behavior aimed at dominating or controlling another person.

“The current law does not sufficiently cover stalking behavior, leaving victim protection always a step behind,” she said.

“I hope effective safeguards will operate to prevent these repeated tragedies and protect victims before they are exposed to violence.”

The current law characterizes stalking as following or approaching someone, blocking their path, watching their home or workplace, sending unwanted messages or objects, or damaging their belongings.

The proposed amendment would add acts that force someone to enter, maintain or resume a relationship. It would also explicitly cover the installation of location-tracking devices or software and exercising control through digital means.

Other acts to be added would include using private information to make threats, threatening a person’s life or property, threatening pets, or cutting someone off from family and friends.