ACT ON PUNISHMENT OF CRIME OF STALKING

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Act is to protect the victims of the crime of stalking and to contribute to the establishment of the healthy order of society by prescribing special cases concerning the punishment of the crime of stalking and the procedures therefor and the procedures for protecting victims of the crime of stalking.

Article 2(Definitions) #

The terms used in this Act are defined as follows: <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. The term "act of stalking" means engaging in any of the following acts directed at the other person against his or her will, without good reason, which causes him or her anxiety or fear:

(a) An act of approaching or following, or obstructing the path of, the other person, or the other person's household or family members (hereinafter referred to as "the other persons, etc.");

(b) An act of waiting for or observing the other persons, etc. at the residence, workplace, school, or other places of daily life of the other persons, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "residence, etc."), or in the vicinity thereof;

(c) An act of having things, written or verbal statements, codes, sound, drawings, pictures, or video images (hereinafter referred to as "things, etc.") delivered to the other persons, etc. by mail, telephone, facsimile, or via information and communications networks defined in Article 2 (1) 1 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, or having written or verbal statements, codes, sound, drawings, pictures, or video images presented to the other persons, etc. via programs using information and communications networks or by telephone;

(d) An act of having things, etc. delivered directly or through a third person to the other persons, etc. or placing things, etc. in the residence, etc. of the other persons, etc. or in the vicinity thereof;

(e) An act of damaging things, etc. placed in the residence, etc. of the other persons, etc. or in the vicinity thereof;

(f) An act of providing, distributing, or posting any of the following information of the other persons, etc. to a third party via information and communications networks:

(i) Personal information defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Personal Information Protection Act;

(ii) Personal location information defined in subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Act on the Protection and Use of Location Information;

(iii) Information obtained by compiling, synthesizing, or processing the information referred to in (i) or (ii) (limited to where the relevant information subject can be identified);

(g) An act of posing as the other persons, etc. using the information on the other persons, etc. such as the name, title, photograph, image, or status via information and communications networks;

Article 3(Emergency Measures upon Receiving Reports on Act of Stalking) #

Upon receiving a report on any ongoing act of stalking, a judicial police officer shall be immediately dispatched to the scene of the act of stalking and take the following measures: <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023> <Amended on July 11, 2023>

1. Restraining the act of stalking, issuing a notice to stop the act of stalking, and issuing a written warning of punishment in cases of a repeated or continuing act of stalking;

2. Separating the stalker and the victim, etc. and conducting criminal investigation;

3. Informing the victim, etc. of procedures for requesting urgent emergency measures and provisional measures, etc.;

4. Delivering the victim, etc. to a counseling center or shelter related to the damage of stalking (limited to cases where the victim, etc. consents thereto).

Article 4(Urgent Emergency Measures) #

(1) In regard to a report on an act of stalking, if the act of stalking is likely to be continued or repeated and it is urgently necessary to prevent the crime of stalking, a judicial police officer may take the following measures against the stalker, ex officio or at the request of the person who has been subjected to the act of stalking or his or her legal representative, or at the request of the person who has reported the act of stalking: <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. Prohibiting the stalker from approaching within 100 meters of the other persons, etc. who have been subjected to the act of stalking or the residence, etc. thereof;

2. Prohibiting the stalker from accessing the other persons, etc. who have been subjected to the act of stalking through telecommunications defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on Telecommunications.

(2) Upon taking a measure under paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as "urgent emergency measure”), a judicial police officer shall immediately prepare a written decision on an urgent emergency measure which includes the summary of the act of stalking, the reasons for the necessity of the urgent emergency measure, the details of the urgent emergency measure, etc.

Article 5(Application for Approval for Urgent Emergency Measures) #

(1) Upon taking an urgent emergency measure, a judicial police officer shall, without delay, file an application with a prosecutor to request a judge of the competent district court to grant ex post facto approval for the relevant urgent emergency measure.

(2) The prosecutor in receipt of an application under paragraph (1) shall request a judge of the competent district court to grant ex post facto approval for the relevant urgent emergency measure within 48 hours from the time the urgent emergency measure is taken. In such cases, a written decision on an urgent emergency measure prepared under Article 4 (2) shall be annexed thereto.

(3) Where a judge of the competent district court deems it necessary to prevent an act of stalking from being continuously or repeatedly committed, he or she may approve the urgent emergency measure requested under paragraph (2).

(4) When a prosecutor does not request ex post facto approval for an urgent emergency measure pursuant to paragraph (2) or a judge of the competent district court does not grant ex post facto approval for the request made under paragraph (2), a judicial police officer shall immediately revoke such urgent emergency measure.

(5) The period of an urgent emergency measure shall not exceed one month.

Article 6(Notification of Urgent Emergency Measures) #

(1) Where a judicial police officer takes urgent emergency measures, he or she shall notify the other persons, etc. who have been subjected to the act of stalking or their legal representatives of such measures. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(2) Where a judicial police officer takes an urgent emergency measure, he or she shall inform a person subject to the relevant urgent emergency measure (hereinafter referred to as "person subject to an urgent emergency measure") of the details of the measure taken, methods for raising an objection to such measure, etc.

Article 7(Change of Urgent Emergency Measures) #

(1) A person subject to an urgent emergency measure or his or her legal representative may file an application with a judicial police officer to revoke the urgent emergency measure or to change the category thereof.

(2) If the other persons, etc. who have been subjected to an act of stalking relocate their residences, etc. after urgent emergency measures are taken under Article 4 (1) 1, they or their legal representatives may file an application with the judicial police officer to change the urgent emergency measures. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(3) If no urgent emergency measure is necessary, a person who has been subjected to an act of stalking or his or her legal representative may file an application with the judicial police officer to revoke the relevant urgent emergency measure.

(4) Where a judicial police officer deems that there is good cause, he or she may revoke the relevant urgent emergency measure, ex officio or upon receipt of an application under paragraphs (1) through (3), and change the category of such urgent emergency measure with approval of the judge of the competent district court.

(5) Where a judicial police officer revokes, or changes the category of, urgent emergency measures pursuant to paragraph (4), he or she shall notify or inform the other persons, etc. who have been subjected to an act of stalking and the persons, etc. subject to the urgent emergency measures of the following: <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. The other persons, etc. who have been subjected to an act of stalking or their legal representatives: Notification of the revocation or modification of urgent emergency measures;

2. The person subject to urgent emergency measures: Informing the relevant person of the details of revoked or modified measures or the methods of raising an objection to such measures.

(6) The urgent emergency measures (including cases where the category of measures is changed pursuant to paragraph (4); hereafter in this paragraph, the same shall apply) shall cease to be effective in any of the following cases: <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. Where a period prescribed by the urgent emergency measure has passed;

2. When the court decides to take any of the following measures with respect to a person subject to urgent emergency measures (limited to cases where the victim is the same person as the other person who has been subjected to the act of stalking):

Article 8(Requests for Provisional Measures) #

(1) Where a prosecutor deems that a crime of stalking is likely to reoccur, he or she may file a request with the court for a provisional measure prescribed in the subparagraphs of Article 9 (1), either ex officio or upon application by a judicial police officer.

(2) A victim or his or her legal representative may file a request with a prosecutor or judicial police officer to take a provisional measure or file an application under paragraph (1), or state his or her opinions thereon.

(3) If a judicial police officer does not file an application under paragraph (1) even after receiving a request for application under paragraph (2), he or she shall report the grounds therefor to the competent prosecutor, and inform the victims or their legal representatives of such fact without delay. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(4) If the prosecutor fails to make a request under paragraph (1) even after receiving a request for the request under paragraph (2), he or she shall inform the victim or his or her legal representative of such fact without delay. <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

Article 9(Provisional Measures against Stalkers) #

(1) The court may, by its ruling, take any of the following measures (hereinafter referred to as “provisional measures”) against a stalker, if deemed necessary to facilitate the investigation and examination of a crime of stalking or to protect the victim of stalking: <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. Issuing a written warning to the stalker to stop the crime of stalking against the victim;

2. Prohibiting the stalker from coming within 100 meters of the victims or their household or family members, or the residence, etc. thereof;

3. Prohibiting the stalker from accessing the victims or their household or family members through telecommunications defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on Telecommunications;

3-2; Attaching an electronic tracking device defined in subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Act on Electronic Monitoring (hereinafter referred to as "electronic device");

4. Detaining the stalker in a detention cell or detention center of a national police agency.

(2) The provisional measures referred to in the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) may be imposed concurrently.

(3) The court may hear the opinions of prosecutors, stalkers, victims, and other persons of reference if deemed necessary to determine the grounds for provisional measures before making a decision on measures under paragraph (1) 3-2 or 4. The method and procedures for hearing opinions and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by the Supreme Court Regulations. <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

(4) A person fitted with an electronic device pursuant to paragraph (1) 3-2 shall not engage in any of the following acts that tamper with the electronic device during the period of provisional measures. <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. Arbitrarily removing the electronic device from the body or damaging the device;

2. Disrupting the radio wave emitted from the electronic device or altering the data received;

3. Other acts that tamper with the electronic device, other than the acts specified in subparagraphs 1 and 2.

(5) When the court decides to take a provisional measure, it shall notify the prosecutor, the victim, or his or her household or family member, or his or her legal representative of the decision. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

Article 10(Enforcement of Provisional Measures) #

(1) If the court decides to take a provisional measure, it may have court officials, judicial police officers, correctional public officials under the jurisdiction of a detention center, or probation officers to enforce such measure. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(2) Any person who enforces a decision to take a provisional measure under paragraph (1) shall notify the stalker of the details thereof, the methods for raising an objection, etc.

(3) Where the victims or their household or family members relocate their residences, etc. after a decision to take provisional measures is made under Article 9 (1) 2, the victims or their household or family members or their legal representatives may file an application with the court to modify the decision to take provisional measures. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(4) Paragraph (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the notification of a modified decision to a stalker upon receiving an application under paragraph (3). <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

(5) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) through (4), Chapter V-2 of the Act on Electronic Monitoring shall apply to the enforcement, etc. of a decision to take provisional measures under Article 9 (1) 3-2. <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

Article 11(Change of Provisional Measures) #

(1) A stalker or his or her legal representative may file an application with the court to revoke a decision to take a provisional measure or change the category of such provisional measure.

(2) Where a prosecutor deems that a provisional measure is continuously necessary in the course of investigation or trial, he or she may request the court to extend the period of relevant provisional measure or to change the category thereof ex officio or upon application by a judicial police officer, and where a prosecutor deems the provisional measures unnecessary, he or she may request the court to revoke the relevant provisional measure ex officio or upon application by a judicial police officer. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(3) The court may, by its ruling, revoke the relevant provisional measure, extend the period thereof, or change the category thereof, ex officio or upon receiving an application under paragraph (1) or a request under (2), if it deems that there exists good cause.

(4) In cases of revocation of provisional measures, an extension of the period for such measures, or change in the category thereof, etc. pursuant to paragraph (3), the court shall notify or inform the prosecutors, victims, and the stalkers, etc. of the following: <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. The prosecutors, the victims or their household or family members, or their legal representatives: Notifying the person of the intent to revoke, extend the period for, or change the category of, provisional measures;

2. The stalkers: Informing the person of the details of provisional measures revoked, extended, or changed, and the methods of raising an objection and others;

3. Persons classified under the subparagraphs of Article 9 (6): The fact that the court has taken provisional measures under Article 9 (1) 4.

(5) A decision to take a provisional measure (including a decision to extend the period for a provisional measure or change the category thereof under paragraph (3); hereafter in Articles 12 and 14, the same shall apply) shall cease to be effective when the prosecutor takes a non-prosecution disposition against the stalker or when the judicial police officer decides not to transfer the case. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

Article 12(Complaints) #

(1) Where a decision to take an urgent emergency measure or provisional measure falls under any of the following, a prosecutor, a stalker, or his or her legal representative may file a complaint:

1. Where there is a violation of a statute or regulation or a mistake of a material fact, which has influenced the decision;

2. Where the relevant decision is manifestly unreasonable.

(2) A complaint under paragraph (1) shall be lodged within seven days from the date the decision is notified.

Article 13(Filing of Written Complaints) #

(1) When a complaint is filed under Article 12, a written complaint shall be submitted to the lower court.

(2) The court in receipt of a written complaint shall send relevant records accompanied by written opinions, to the appellate court within three days from the receipt of such written complaint.

Article 14(Trial of Complaints) #

(1) The appellate court shall, by its ruling, dismiss a complaint if it deems that the complaint procedure has violated a statute or that there is no ground for the complaint.

(2) Where the appellate court deems that a complaint is well-grounded, it shall remand the case to the lower court or transfer it to another competent court, after revoking an original decision: Provided, That it may quash the original decision and make a decision to take a provisional measure, at its discretion, where it is too urgent to remand or transfer the case or where it is deemed necessary on other grounds.

Article 15(Further Complaints) #

(1) A further complaint may be filed with the Supreme Court against a decision to dismiss a complaint, only if such decision is in violation of any statutes or regulations.

(2) Articles 12 (2), 13, and 14 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the period of a further complaint under paragraph (1), submission of a petition of a further complaint, and trial of a further complaint.

Article 16(Non-Suspension of Enforcement) #

Neither complaint nor further complaint shall have the effect of suspending the enforcement of a decision.

Article 17(Exclusive Investigation System for Victims of Crime of Stalking) #

(1) The Prosecutor General shall have the chief prosecutor of each district prosecutors' office designate public prosecutors in exclusive charge of the crime of stalking to investigate the victims of such crimes, in the absence of exceptional circumstances.

(2) The chief of a police agency (referring to the chief of the National Office of Investigation, the commissioner of a City/Do police agency, and the chief of a police station; hereinafter the same shall apply) shall designate judicial police officers in exclusive charge of the crime of stalking to investigate the victims of such crime, in the absence of exceptional circumstances.

(3) The Prosecutor General and the chief of a police agency shall provide prosecutors in exclusive charge of the crime of staking referred to in paragraph (1) and judicial police officers in exclusive charge of the crime of stalking referred to in paragraph (2) with education on investigative methods, investigative procedures, etc. necessary to investigate the crime of stalking.

Article 17-2(Personal Safety Measures for Victims) #

@Articles 13 and 13-2 of the Act on Protection of Specific Crime Informants shall apply mutatis mutandis to personal safety measures taken by a court or an investigative authority in examining or investigating the victims, etc. or persons who have filed a report (including complaint or accusation; hereafter in this Article the same shall apply) on an act of stalking. In such cases, "informants, etc. of crimes" shall be construed as "victims, etc. or persons who have reported an act of stalking".

[This Article Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023]

Article 17-3(Prohibition of Divulgence of Victims' Identity and Privacy Information) #

(1) No former or current public official in charge of or involved in any of the following business affairs shall disclose or divulge to any third party the address, name, age, occupation, school, appearance, photographs, and other personal information of victims, etc. by which the victims, etc. can be identified, or their privacy information.

1. Business affairs regarding measures specified in Article 3;

2. Business affairs regarding the application, request, approval for, or the enforcement, revocation, or modification of, urgent emergency measures;

3. Business affairs regarding the application or request for, decision or enforcement of, or revocation, extension of period, or change of, provisional measures;

4. Business affairs regarding the investigation into or trial on a crime of stalking.

(2) No one shall publish the address, name, age, occupation, school, appearance, photographs, or other personal information of victims, etc. without their consent, by which the victims, etc. can be identified, in a newspaper or other printed materials, or disclose the information to the public by means of broadcasting defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Broadcasting Act or via information and communications networks.

[This Article Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023]

Article 17-4(Special Cases concerning Appointment of Attorneys-At-Law for Victims) #

(1) A victim and his or her legal representative may appoint an attorney-at-law to defend the victim from any damage that can be inflicted in the course of criminal proceedings and to ensure legal aid.

(2) The attorney-at-law appointed under paragraph (1) (hereafter in this Article referred to as "attorney") may participate and state his or her opinion in the course of investigation conducted by a prosecutor or a judicial police officer on the victim and his or her legal representative: Provided, That when the investigation is under way, the attorney may state his or her opinion with the approval of the prosecutor or judicial police officer.

(3) The attorney may appear before the court to state his or her opinions in the interrogation of the criminal suspect before detention, procedures for the preservation of evidence, preparatory hearing, and trial proceedings. In such cases, details regarding necessary procedures shall be prescribed by the Supreme Court Regulations.

(4) The attorney may inspect or copy any related documents or articles of evidence after the preservation of evidence or during the pendency of the lawsuit.

(5) The attorney shall have the comprehensive power to act on behalf of the victim or his or her legal representative in all procedural acts for which representation is permissible in criminal proceedings.

(6) If the victim has no attorney, a prosecutor may appoint a public attorney to protect the victim's rights and interests in criminal proceedings.

[This Article Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023]

Article 18(Crime of Stalking) #

(1) A person who commits a crime of stalking shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won.

(2) A person who commits a crime of stalking by carrying or using a deadly weapon or other dangerous thing shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won.

(3) Deleted. <Jul. 11, 2023>

Article 19(Concurrent Imposition of Punishment and Order to Attend Educational Programs) #

(1) Where a court convicts a person who has committed a crime of stalking (excluding suspension of sentence) or notifies such person of a summary order, it may issue to him or her an order to attend an educational program (referring to an order to attend an educational program under the Act on Probation; hereinafter the same shall apply) or an order to complete a stalking treatment program (hereinafter referred to as "order to complete a program") for up to 200 hours, concurrently with such sentence, as may be necessary to prevent recidivism, according to the following classifications:

1. An order to attend an educational program: Such order may be concurrently imposed within the period of suspended execution where the execution of a sentence is suspended;

2. An order to complete a program: Such order may be concurrently imposed where a sentence of a fine or imprisonment with labor is imposed or where a summary order is notified.

(2) If the court suspends the execution of a sentence for a person who has committed a crime of stalking, it may concurrently issue either of probation disposition or community service disposition, or both dispositions within the period of suspended execution in addition to an order to attend an educational program under paragraph (1).

(3) Details of an order to attend an educational program or an order to complete a program under paragraph (1) shall be as follows:

1. Diagnosing stalking behaviors and counseling thereon;

2. Education regarding sound social order and human rights;

3. Other matters necessary to prevent persons who have committed the crime of stalking from repeat offending.

(4) An order to attend an educational program or an order to complete a program under paragraph (1) shall be enforced according to the following classifications:

1. Where the execution of a sentence is suspended: Within the period of suspended execution;

2. Where a sentence of a fine is imposed or a summary order is notified: Within six months from the date the sentence becomes final and conclusive;

3. Where the offender is sentenced to imprisonment with labor: Within the term of sentence.

(5) Where an order to attend an educational program or an order to complete a program under paragraph (1) is imposed concurrently with the sentence of a fine or the suspension of the execution of sentence, it shall be executed by the director of a probation office, and where it is imposed concurrently with the sentence of imprisonment with labor, it shall be executed by the director of a correctional facility: Provided, That if an offender is released or provisionally released from prison prior to the fulfillment of an order to complete a program imposed concurrently with the sentence of imprisonment with labor or if the execution of punishment becomes impossible for reasons, such as the inclusion of the number of days of detention pending a court decision, the remainder of such order shall be enforced by the director of a probation office.

Article 20(Penalty Provisions) #

(1) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won: <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. A person who tampers with an electronic device, in violation of Article 9 (4);

2. A person who discloses or divulges to any third party the address, name, age, occupation, school, appearance, photographs, and other personal information of victims, etc. by which it is possible to identify the victims, etc. or their privacy information, in violation of Article 17-3 (1);

3. A person who publishes the address, name, age, occupation, school, appearance, photographs, or other personal information of the victim, etc. by which they can be identified, in any newspaper or other printed materials, or discloses such information by means of broadcasting defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Broadcasting Act or via information and communications networks, in violation of Article 17-3 (2);

(2) A person who fails to comply with a provisional measure under Article 9 (1) 2 or 3 shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than two years or by a fine not exceeding 20 million won. <Amended on Jul. 11, 2023>

(3) A person who fails to comply with an urgent emergency measure (excluding cases where a prosecutor does not request ex post facto approval for an urgent emergency measure under Article 5 (2) or where a district court judge does not grant approval under paragraph (3) of that Article) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for up to one year or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won. <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

(4) If a person who had received an order to complete a program under Article 19 (1) received a warning under the Act on Probation or the Act on Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Inmates for failure to comply with the instruction of the director of a probation office or the director of a correctional facility regarding the compliance with the order to complete the program, and then again fails to follow such instruction to comply with the order for completion without good cause, the following shall apply: <Newly Inserted on Jul. 11, 2023>

1. Where such order is imposed concurrently with a fine, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five million won;

2. Where such order is imposed concurrently with an actual punishment by imprisonment with labor, the person shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won.

Article 21 #

Deleted. <Jul. 11, 2023>