Government Launches 20 Measures to Strengthen Response to Stalking and Dating Violence

Perpetrators’ Real-Time Movements Alerted to Victims
Private Security and Intelligent CCTV Support for High-Risk Victims

The government is bolstering its response to stalking and dating violence by directly notifying victims of perpetrators’ real-time locations and activating an all-out cooperative system in which both police officers and probation officers are dispatched simultaneously when perpetrators approach nearby.

Measures to Strengthen Response to Stalking and Dating Violence. Task Force of Related Ministries for Responding to Stalking and Dating Violence

The “Interdepartmental Task Force on Stalking and Dating Violence Response,” comprised of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and the National Police Agency, announced on the 13th a set of “Measures to Strengthen Response to Stalking and Dating Violence,” consisting of 20 tasks across four major areas. This comprehensive plan was created as a response to fill gaps in the field, following incidents such as the “Namyangju Stalking Murder Case” that occurred in March this year.

The core of this initiative is a proactive collaborative system that breaks down institutional barriers. Since July 6, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice have been operating a nationwide joint protection system in which police officers and probation officers are dispatched simultaneously when perpetrators approach, with each responsible for victim protection and perpetrator restraint, respectively. By December, the government plans to complete the integration of the Ministry of Justice’s electronic monitoring system with the National Police Agency’s 112 emergency system, so that responding officers can immediately check the real-time locations of both perpetrators and victims on-site.

Since June 24, a new system has already been in place that alerts victims in real time to a perpetrator’s actual location and movements if the perpetrator, who is subject to electronic location tracking, approaches.

Initial isolation and punishment of perpetrators are also being strengthened. The National Police Agency has introduced a three-tier system to classify perpetrators’ risk levels as high, medium, or low, significantly reinforcing isolation measures. As a result, between January and May this year, the number of isolation order applications surged compared to the same period last year, with arrests up by 88.5% and electronic monitoring orders up by 859.7%. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office also created and distributed a “provisional measure checklist” to frontline investigators, based on an in-depth analysis of 80 major dating violence and murder cases to identify early warning signs of serious crimes.

The legal safety net and tailored support will also be expanded. A “victim protection order” system, allowing victims to directly apply to the court for restraining orders, is set to take effect in April next year. The government is also moving to enact separate legislation for the punishment of dating violence and victim protection, previously left in a legal blind spot, and plans to legislate an extension of the current maximum nine-month period for provisional stalking measures.

For high-risk victims facing a significant threat of retaliatory crime, two private security personnel will provide close protection, and intelligent CCTV will be installed to detect intrusions at their residence. In addition, a joint response system between 261 police stations and 189 domestic violence counseling centers nationwide will provide intensive monitoring and professional psychological counseling.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will also promote public awareness campaigns using “Red Flag 10,” a set of guidelines outlining ten risk indicators such as violent tendencies, obsession, and coercive control. A representative of the task force stated, “We will continuously monitor the implementation of these measures to ensure that victims feel a tangible increase in their safety.”

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