Jeju Woman in Her 40s Murdered After Reporting Stalking and Sexual Violence Four Times: “Couldn’t Report Even With a Smartwatch”

[Financial News] In connection with the killing in Jeju of a woman in her 40s by a man in his 60s said to be her former partner, it has emerged that she had previously made several reports related to stalking and sexual violence, but they were either not formally registered as cases or were closed for lack of evidence. Police had provided her with a smartwatch and were managing her as someone requiring safety measures, but she died without even being able to report the incident using the watch.
Yonhap News and other outlets reported on the 13th that the Jeju Western Police Station had arrested A, a man in his 60s, on suspicion of murder and was questioning him.
A is suspected of stabbing B, a woman in her 40s, to death with a weapon on a street outside a hotel in Yeondong, Jeju City, at around 1:38 a.m. the previous day.
Police responded to a report from a witness and arrested A on an emergency basis on a road in Geonip-dong, Jeju City, about three hours after the crime.
B was taken to a hospital but eventually died.
The investigation found that they had been in a relationship in the past, and that B had reported to police at least four times between October last year and May this year, saying that A had subjected her to sexual violence, stalking and other acts.
In October last year, B reported A to police on suspicion of stalking, but the police did not formally register the case. Police said this was because B had not fully cooperated with the investigation and had stated that she did not want punishment.
On March 5, she reported that A had threatened to “distribute a sex video.” Police said they closed the case for lack of evidence because B did not cooperate with the investigation, including by failing to appear to give a victim statement.
The Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes no longer includes a provision making stalking an offense that cannot be prosecuted against the victim’s wishes, so cases must be handled once a report is received even if the victim does not want punishment. Police said that after the sexual violence and stalking reports were closed, they were unable to impose provisional measures against A, such as a ban on approaching B.
After several related reports continued to come in, including a report of dating violence in May, police, concerned about the risk of retaliatory violence, registered B as a person requiring safety measures in the 112 reporting system and provided her with a smartwatch on the 16th of last month.
However, B reportedly died without even managing to make a report using the smartwatch she was wearing at the time. Police believe A attacked her suddenly, grabbing her and forcibly dragging her away while assaulting her, leaving her unable to activate the watch.
Police plan to commission a digital forensic analysis of A’s phone and an autopsy on B, and to seek a warrant for A’s arrest.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter