Man who killed former partner had been reported for stalking four times

A suspect in his 60s who was found unconscious beside his former partner — a woman in her 70s killed Thursday in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul — had been under police surveillance as part of a nationwide sweep of relationship-based crimes, authorities said.

The Korean National Police Agency, responding to a string of stalking and domestic violence cases, conducted a comprehensive review of 44,540 relationship-based crime cases from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30, seeking arrest warrants for high-risk offenders and placing some in detention facilities.

The victim, identified only by the surname B, had previously been designated a "Class A high-risk victim" of relationship-based crime after reporting that the suspect, identified only as A, had stalked her.

Police conducted 27 safety checks on B before the killing and arranged temporary shelter for her twice — once when A's arrest warrant was rejected and again when A was released from a detention center.

However, following the nationwide review, B said she no longer wanted additional protective measures, and police did not apply for further provisional orders at her request.

The tragedy exposed a persistent gap in the system: when a victim of relationship-based crime indicates they do not want the perpetrator punished, investigators have little choice but to close the case or scale back protective measures — a loophole that has repeatedly led to fatal outcomes.

B had filed four stalking complaints against A with police before her death, with three separate Seoul police stations involved in the responses.

The first report was filed with Eunpyeong Police Station in September 2024, when B said a man was following her. Officers who responded determined it was a simple dispute, separated the two parties and closed the case.

B filed another report with Eunpyeong Police Station in June, saying A was following her again. A week later, she reported to Namdaemun Police Station that A was waiting near her workplace.

Namdaemun Police Station issued B a smartwatch and other safety measures and applied to the court for three provisional orders against A: a written warning, a no-contact order and a ban on electronic communications.

A violated those orders on July 18, following B to her home and assaulting her. Mapo Police Station, which received the report of stalking and violence, arrested A on an emergency basis on assault charges and applied to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office for an arrest warrant on charges of assault, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act and theft.

The prosecutors' office declined to seek the warrant, citing A's terminal stage-4 lung cancer and limited life expectancy. Police ultimately transferred the case without detaining A.

Determining that A still posed a risk of reoffending, however, police applied to the court for provisional orders including detention at a correctional facility and attachment of an electronic monitoring anklet.

A was held at a detention center from July 23 to Aug. 22. After release, A wore the electronic anklet until Oct. 22.

Police said they urged B twice to accept protective measures — once when A was released from the detention center and again when the electronic monitoring period ended — but B declined both times.

B told police she did not feel at risk from A and did not want any protective measures.

About two weeks after A's anklet was removed, B was found dead Thursday at A's residence in Bulgwang-dong, Eunpyeong-gu.

Police plan to conduct forensic analysis of both A's and B's mobile phones to establish the precise sequence of events.

Investigators also said they intend to question A about the motive for the alleged crime as soon as A regains consciousness.