Stamping Out Stalking

[Anchor Lead]

Disturbing cases of stalking have made headlines recently, bringing more attention to the issue. A new law seeks to toughen the punishment for stalkers to include time behind bars and step up protection for victims.

[Pkg]

A woman in her 40s sustained severe burns all over her body after her car was set on fire by a 50-year-old man. It was revealed later that the victim had been stalked by the man for years.

[Soundbite] Police Officer(Voice modified) : "We have confirmed that the two knew each other, but the woman apparently avoided meeting the man."

In many cases, stalking causes severe damage to victims, but so far it has been regarded as a misdemeanor and the perpetrators were only punished with an 80,000-won penalty. The government is pushing for a new law to hand harsher punishments to stalkers. This may include serving in prison.

[Soundbite] Lee Suk-jin(Vice Minister of Gender Equality) : "Stalking must be punished with prison term or fines, not penalties. Perpetrators who are likely to commit their crimes again must be banned from approaching or contacting their victims."

Under the new law, reports of stalking will be received and monitored by police separately. In addition, a hotline will be established between police and victims to provide stronger protection for victims.

[Soundbite] Prof. Park Mi-rang(Hannam University) : "We welcome the new law, but rather than emphasizing harsher punishment, the authorities should come up with ways to help ease victims' fear and anxiety."

The government will also announce measures next week on fighting sexual crimes in the public sector as part of the "me too" campaign that has spread across various sectors of Korean society.