A man in his 40s has been sentenced to prison for courting a pharmacy more than 20 times over a three-month period.

According to the legal profession, Judge Chae Hee-in of the Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Central District Law sentenced 26-year-old A to six months in prison and one year of probation after he was accused of violating the Law on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, and ordered him to take a 6-hour recidivism prevention course for stalking crimes.

Mr. A, who was working as a security guard in a building in Seoul, became interested in Mr. B, a pharmacist who ran a pharmacy in the same building around May last year.

In November of the same year, Miss A revealed her personal information and began dating in earnest by asking if she had a boyfriend and her phone number.

Mr. B announced his intention not to visit him anymore, but Mr. A visited Mr. B a total of 1 times over a period of 40 days from November 5 to February 11 last year.

Mr. A visited Mr. B's pharmacy for six consecutive days, showed up five times a day, and gave him potted plants and fruits even though Mr. B refused to buy them.

"The defendant had never had any intercourse with the victim and although he had explicitly asked her not to visit her anymore, he had visited her dozens of times, and the victim appears to have suffered considerable emotional distress," the court said, adding that the court had "taken into account that the defendant admitted to committing the crime and was a first-time offender."