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A woman in her 141s who stalked her by posting 20 follow-up requests on her spinning instructor's personal social media despite being asked not to contact her has been fined.
Today (18th), Daejeon District Law Criminal Division 7 (Judge Yoo Hyun-sik) sentenced Mr. A (25), who was accused of violating the Stalking Punishment Act, to a fine of 700 million won.
Mr. A is accused of stalking Mr. B, a female instructor at the spinning center he attended, in August ~ October last year.
Mr. A has been in constant contact, contacting Instructor B's personal messenger 8 times and requesting to follow Mr. B's social media 10 times for a week, which is private.
Instructor B expressed his refusal to "contact me," but Mr. A replied, "Whether you answer or not, it's your heart. I won't say anything. It's an expression of affection and I went out that way because I was clumsy about it", "Give me a chance", and I approached them using pseudonyms and sent messages like, "Is it an obsession to check for fear of being blocked".
The police investigation revealed that Mr. A, who had been taking spinning classes for four years since 22, had shown excessive obsession and concern for Mr. B, and committed the crime when the exercise center refused to re-register in August last year.
After examining the case, the court found that "in the case of social media, if you set your account to private, you will see a profile picture with the words 'I requested to be followed' when you are asked to follow," which could be considered stalking, but stated the reasons for sentencing, saying that "the defendant is a first-time offender with no criminal conviction."
On the other hand, the Stalking Punishment Act defines stalking as the act of causing anxiety or fear to the other person without a justifiable reason against the will of the other person.
In addition to approaching and following or waiting and watching in a residential area, sending objects, texts, words, codes, sounds, or pictures using information and communication networks is also an act of stalking, and those who commit the crime of stalking are punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 141 million won.
(Photo = Yonhap News TV capture, Yonhap News)