Woman fined for stalking after banging ceiling 9 times to protest noise from upstairs neighbor

A woman in her 50s who repeatedly struck her ceiling with a back-scratcher to protest noise from the apartment above has been convicted of stalking.

Judge Ko Beom-jin of the Chuncheon District Court's Criminal Division 2 fined the defendant, identified only as A, 2 million won ($1,460) and ordered her to complete a 40-hour stalking treatment program after finding her guilty of violating the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes.

A was indicted on charges of striking her ceiling with a back-scratcher or buzzing her upstairs neighbor's intercom nine times over roughly two months beginning March 17 last year, in protest over noise she said was coming from above.

The dispute began in December 2024, when a 42-year-old woman identified as B moved into the unit above A. Starting in January last year, A repeatedly asked B to keep the noise down, and when the problem persisted, she began calling B directly through the intercom.

In February of the same year, B asked A to route any noise complaints through the building management office. A continued to bang the ceiling with a back-scratcher and call the intercom directly, according to the investigation.

At trial, A argued her actions were within the bounds of what society would consider a reasonable response to an inter-floor noise problem. The court disagreed.

"After the management office indicated it would not intervene in the noise dispute, the defendant should have sought resolution through other channels, such as the Inter-floor Noise Neighbor Center or civil litigation," the court said, adding that her conduct could not be regarded as justified within the bounds of social norms.

The court further noted that "considering the circumstances, methods and frequency of the protests, they were objectively and generally sufficient to cause anxiety or fear in the other party." However, the fact that A had moved out after the incidents — eliminating the risk of the dispute continuing — was taken into account in sentencing.