The Ministry of Justice and the Korean National Police Agency will establish a real-time information-sharing system and mount a joint response to prevent repeat stalking and domestic violence offenses by high-risk criminals wearing electronic anklets. The aim is to close information gaps between agencies and strengthen victim protection so that tragedies like the "Namyangju stalking murder case" in March are not repeated.
According to the legal community Thursday, the Ministry of Justice and the Korean National Police Agency have prepared a "Cooperative Response Plan for High-Risk Subjects" containing these measures and will implement it starting the same day.
Under the new system, when a subject wearing an electronic anklet for a specific crime commits a stalking or domestic violence offense and receives a court order barring approach to the victim (provisional measures or temporary measures), the relevant information will be immediately shared between the two agencies. When necessary, a cooperative system will also operate in which probation officers and police are dispatched to the scene together.
The measure was prepared in the wake of the Namyangju stalking murder case in March. At the time, the perpetrator, who was wearing an electronic anklet for a sexual violence crime, had even received an order barring approach to the victim for a stalking offense, but that fact was not shared between the Ministry of Justice and the Korean National Police Agency. As a result, the relevant agencies failed to detect the attempt to approach the victim in advance, which ultimately led to a violent crime.
The two agencies completed the system linkage on the 23rd of last month, enabling relevant information to be transmitted in real time. They also prepared standard on-scene response procedures so that they can immediately mount a joint response when a subject attempts to approach a victim.
Under the new response system, when an approach to a victim is detected, the probation officer is dispatched to the perpetrator and the police to the victim simultaneously. The probation officer confirms whether the perpetrator has made an approach, while the police protect the victim's safety. If a violation of the approach ban is confirmed, the two agencies can cooperate to immediately arrest the perpetrator. If the victim consents, they can install a mobile protection application to receive approach alerts.
Ahead of the system's implementation, the Ministry of Justice and the Korean National Police Agency completed practical preparations by conducting nationwide field training and joint mock drills from the 22nd of last month through the 3rd of this month.
Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho said, "Going forward, we will tightly fill in institutional blind spots and concentrate all available capabilities so that citizens can enjoy safe and peaceful daily lives free from crime, including stalking and domestic violence." Acting Police Commissioner Yoo Jae-sung also said, "Through close information cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, we will thoroughly isolate perpetrators from the approach stage and build a substantive safety net where victims can feel secure from the threat of crime."
