Gender Equality Ministry, police to hold regular meetings on stalking, dating violence

By Kim Do-yoon, The Herald Business

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korean National Police Agency are launching a standing policy council to coordinate their response to relationship-based crimes, including stalking and dating violence.

The move is intended to shift away from the previous approach of devising countermeasures only after incidents occur. Instead, the two agencies will establish a permanent cooperative framework that regularly checks whether victim protection systems and recurrence prevention measures are functioning properly on the ground.

The ministry announced Wednesday that it will form a director general-level policy council with the Korean National Police Agency and hold the inaugural meeting at the Government Seoul Building on Thursday.

The council will convene vice ministerial-level meetings once every six months and director general-level working meetings once per quarter. Additional meetings will be called as needed when major incidents or pressing issues arise.

The council will also monitor whether the joint response system for relationship-based crimes — established last month — is operating effectively in the field.

Since May 18, the ministry and the Korean National Police Agency have maintained a joint response framework aimed at preventing repeat offenses and strengthening victim protection in cases of stalking, dating violence and domestic violence. Under the arrangement, 261 police stations nationwide are linked with 189 counseling institutions — including domestic violence counseling centers and the national women's emergency hotline 1366 — to support victims.

When a relationship-based crime is reported, a victim protection officer and a professional counselor respond jointly. Counseling institutions share with police any notable information about the perpetrator or the victim's condition gathered during counseling sessions, and police use that information to assess risk levels and implement protective measures for the victim's safety.

According to the ministry, police are currently managing 49,906 victims of relationship-based crimes. High-risk victims subject to temporary or provisional restraining orders — classified as A-rating — receive intensive police management, while lower-risk victims — B-rating — are handled by counseling institutions, which provide psychological counseling and monitoring.

Having launched a pan-government digital sex crime council on June 9 to strengthen cooperation on investigations, the ministry plans to further expand its partnership with the Korean National Police Agency to cover cases of violence against women that carry a risk of escalating into criminal offenses.

Vice Minister Jeong Gu-chang said the ministry would "continuously review victim protection, support and on-the-ground response measures, and strengthen cooperation to build a social safety net that gives the public peace of mind."