[Exclusive] Police Launch Nationwide 'Stalking Crime' Task Force... Arrest Warrant Within 7 Days

Task Forces Formed at Police Stations and Local Headquarters Nationwide
Arrest Warrants for High-Risk Offenders to Be Requested Within One Week
Mandatory Use of Electronic Monitoring and Detention in Holding Cells

The police, facing criticism for their inadequate response to a stalking murder case in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, have launched a nationwide task force (TF) across all police agencies. The task force plans to re-examine up to 30,000 cases, including those that have been closed during investigation or management. In particular, for high-risk offenders, the police will apply for an arrest warrant within one week and have set a strict policy to simultaneously enforce the use of electronic location-tracking devices and detention in holding cells.

According to a comprehensive report by The Asia Business Daily on March 18, the National Police Agency issued a directive on "Comprehensive Review and Strengthening Measures for Relational Crimes" during a leadership meeting chaired by Acting Commissioner Yoo Jaesung. Acting Commissioner Yoo ordered the formation of unit-based task forces, appointing the heads of public safety divisions at city and provincial police agencies and police station chiefs as team leaders. Each station will conduct a full review of cases under the direction of the chief, report the results to the city or provincial agency, and then submit them to the headquarters.

Acting Commissioner Yoo Jaesung of the National Police Agency. Photo by Yonhap News

In particular, instructions were given to strengthen risk classification and immediate action based on the review results. Specifically, for high-risk offenders, the police are to apply for an arrest warrant within seven days and are required to simultaneously and mandatorily enforce both the use of electronic location-tracking devices (Measure 3-2) and holding cell detention (Measure 4) during interim measures. This policy was implemented because, in the recent case, the police did not apply for Measure 3-2, which could have blocked the crime, even though the threat level posed by the suspect was significant.

On the morning of March 14, in Onam-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, a man in his 40s, identified as A, stabbed and killed a woman in her 20s, with whom he had previously had a common-law relationship, multiple times with a knife. A had been reported several times for violence and stalking and was subject to interim measures 1, 2, and 3 under the Stalking Punishment Act, which prohibited him from approaching within 100 meters of the victim's home, workplace, and other locations. Nevertheless, he waited near the victim's workplace and committed the crime.

Following the incident, it was pointed out that, despite the severity of A's threats toward the victim, the police did not apply to the court for an electronic location-tracking device. Measure 3-2 allows real-time tracking of the offender's movements and sends alerts to the victim, enabling detection of danger even if the victim does not report it directly. In this case, the victim requested help via a smartwatch, but the police failed to prevent the crime.

The police intend to completely block high-risk offenders from approaching victims by securing custody of the suspects. Interim measures range in severity from Measure 1 (no-contact order), Measure 2 (prohibition of contact via electronic communications), to Measure 3 (placement in a medical institution), and so forth.

For medium-risk offenders, the police will also actively implement electronic device monitoring and custody measures. Any case assessed as medium-risk or higher must be reported to the city or provincial agency. Each city and provincial agency will review the measures taken once a week.

Additionally, the police plan to re-examine even cases that have already been closed. The National Police Agency announced that as of today, it will conduct a comprehensive review of 15,000 ongoing relational crime cases. Furthermore, regardless of whether investigations have been closed, the police will review 10,000 cases involving subjects of restraining orders, as well as cases that have been closed after two or more reports within the past three months (including preliminary investigations, counseling, or on-site closures), and 3,600 cases where victim safety measures are still in progress.

Last year, the police applied for interim measures under the Stalking Punishment Act in 14,727 cases, a 25.1% increase compared to 11,775 cases the previous year. During the same period, Measure 3-2 increased from 325 to 858 cases, and Measure 4 increased from 1,225 to 1,864 cases, respectively. This is believed to be the result of the National Police Agency strengthening its guidelines for responding to relational crimes in August of last year.

At that time, the National Police Agency also announced that it would assess offenders' risk of recidivism and, as a rule, apply for both electronic monitoring device attachment and holding cell detention. However, neither of these principles was applied in the recent case.

A police official explained, "We will conduct a case-centered comprehensive review, and then, by May, embark on an additional risk reassessment focusing on victims. For relational crimes, we plan to enforce strict investigations, including arrest and detention, based on the principle of separating victims and offenders from the outset, regardless of whether the victim expresses a desire for punishment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.