The Presidential Office announced Wednesday that police have established a new protocol requiring arrest warrant applications within seven days for high-risk perpetrators of stalking and dating violence, along with mandatory requests for strong provisional measures including electronic location-tracking devices and detention.
Kang Yu-jeong, senior presidential spokesperson, said at a briefing held at Chunchugwan that "following President Lee Jae-myung's directive to swiftly prepare measures to prevent stalking recurrence, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and National Police Agency reported their countermeasures on the 27th of last month."
"Through system integration between the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency, responding police officers will be able to check the real-time locations of both perpetrators wearing electronic devices and victims," Kang explained. "The plan also includes linking the system to smartwatches to transmit information about a perpetrator's approach to the victim."
Kang added that "a revision to the Anti-Stalking Punishment Act, which allows victims to directly petition courts for provisional measures even when investigative agencies have not filed such requests, passed the plenary session on the 31st of last month." She noted that "for matters requiring supplementary legislation, such as codifying dating violence laws, extending the duration of provisional measures, and increasing the number of allowable measures, relevant ministries plan to conduct additional reviews and prepare countermeasures."
Previously, President Lee had mentioned the Namyangju stalking murder case at a senior secretaries' meeting on the 19th of last month, stating, "Rather than only blaming institutional shortcomings, it is the government's responsibility to protect the public by making the most of existing systems." He directed officials to "expedite rigorous and thorough institutional improvements so that the same tragedy does not recur."