SEOUL (AFP) – A South Korean man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stalking a woman he is accused of later killing, in a high-profile case which prompted outraged demands for legal reform.
Over a nearly two-year period, Jeon Joo-hwan, 31, stalked and threatened his victim – a former colleague – on more than 300 separate occasions, the court found.
He was not detained as the police deemed him “low risk”, even as he continued to harass the woman, who had filed a second set of stalking charges against him earlier this year.
On September 14, the day before Jeon was due to be sentenced, he is accused of stabbing the woman to death in a public restroom at a subway station in central Seoul.
He reportedly told investigators that he was enraged by the legal problems his victim had caused him. He was fired from his job at the Seoul Metro – where the victim also worked – after she initially reported him for stalking.
“We deliver a heavier sentence (on the stalking charges) considering the victim was murdered,” the Seoul Western District Court said in its verdict.
