Yet another Korean woman killed in public by her stalker

Posted on : 2022-09-16 17:03 KST Modified on : 2022-09-16 17:03 KST
Last October, Jeon was subject to an emergency arrest on suspicion of illegally filming and threatening the deceased
The entrance to the women’s restroom at Sindang Station on Seoul Metro Line 2, where a woman who works at the station was killed by a man on Sept. 14. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)
The entrance to the women’s restroom at Sindang Station on Seoul Metro Line 2, where a woman who works at the station was killed by a man on Sept. 14. (Shin So-young/The Hankyoreh)

A woman working as a station attendant was killed while on patrol at Sindang Station on Seoul Metro Line 2 by a colleague who had been stalking her for some time. The accused, who had been charged without detention for allegedly stalking the victim, killed the woman just one day prior to being sentenced by the court.

Despite a series of warning signs of violent crime such as repeated one-sided phone calls, illegal filming, threats and stalking over many years, measures such as separating the perpetrator from the victim had not been properly carried out after an arrest warrant was dismissed.

On Thursday, the Seoul Jungbu Police Station requested an arrest warrant for a man surnamed Jeon (31), an employee of Seoul Metro, on a murder charge. The police investigation found that at around 8:59 pm on Wednesday evening, Jeon followed the victim, “G,” who was patrolling the area inside Sindang Station, into a women’s bathroom and attacked her with a knife.

G pressed the emergency alarm button inside the bathroom to alert the station office, and station employees and nearby members of the public were able to apprehend Jeon. G was taken to the nearby National Medical Center, but died from her injuries at 11:31 pm.

Jeon and G began working at Seoul Metro at the same time in 2018. However, it is believed they have never worked in the same location.

“Jeon began stalking [G] in 2019 after joining the company,” said attorney Min Go-eun, who represented G prior to her death. “He called her more than 300 times and left messages.”

The investigation found that Jeon had waited for G near the women’s bathroom with a knife for more than an hour the night he attacked her.

Last October, Jeon was subject to an emergency arrest on suspicion of illegally filming and threatening G. At the time, the police officer who received G’s complaint believed it was necessary for Jeon to be detained, but the Seoul Western District Court dismissed the warrant, stating “[Jeon] has a fixed residence and there are no concerns he is a flight risk or may destroy evidence.”

At the time, G received special safety measures for crime victims (personal protection) from the police for one month. The police later determined there was nothing significant to report, and the protective measures lapsed when G did not wish to extend them.

“It is possible to reconsider [an extension] if there is continued danger, but the victim did not wish for this, so other steps such as provisional measures [to detain the perpetrator], issuing a smartwatch or linked patrols were not carried out,” an official from the National Police Agency said.

After being dismissed from his post, Jeon contacted G and demanded a settlement on several occasions.

In late January, G once again had Jeon indicted for violating the relevant law on punishment of stalking, with the court of first instance scheduled to deliver the sentence in Seoul Western District Court on Thursday, Sept. 15.

“How can something like this happen right in the middle of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea?” the bereaved family of G lamented. “It’s unbelievable that an employee in uniform was attacked like this in her workplace. We really need to do more to protect women.”

By Jang Ye-ji, staff reporter; Park Su-ji, staff reporter; Ko Byung-chan, staff reporter; Jang Na-rye, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories