Kim Eun-hye Proposes Amendment to Civil Procedure Act to Prevent Disclosure of Domestic Violence Victims’ Addresses

Additional Bill Proposed for Electronic Device Attachment to Monitor Domestic Violence Perpetrators

Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, has proposed an amendment to the law to prevent the personal information of domestic violence victims, such as their addresses, from being exposed to perpetrators during divorce proceedings.

On the 11th, Assemblywoman Kim announced that she had sponsored a proposed amendment to the Civil Procedure Act, which would allow the court to take protective measures for personal information ex officio, even without an application from the parties involved in the lawsuit.

The bill was proposed in response to a recent murder case in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. In that case, a woman in her thirties who had reported domestic violence and was under protection was killed after her address, listed in the divorce petition, was exposed to the perpetrator during the divorce proceedings.

Eunhye Kim, Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Under the current law, the court can take protective measures to withhold personal information such as addresses if there is a risk of harm to the life or physical safety of the parties involved in the lawsuit. However, since such measures are in principle only provided upon the victim's request, concerns have been raised that personal information may be exposed to the perpetrator if the victim is unaware of the system or unable to apply.

This amendment stipulates that even if the victim does not make a separate request, the court may decide on protective measures for personal information ex officio if it determines there is a risk of harm.

At a press conference in the National Assembly's communications center that day, Assemblywoman Kim stated, "In this case, even though the victim used a smart watch provided by the police to make a report, the tragedy could not be prevented." She added, "In addition to this proposal, I will introduce an additional amendment to allow for the attachment of electronic devices to enable real-time monitoring of domestic violence perpetrators and prevent their access to victims."

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