A sign reading "Women Friendly Seoul" is displayed on the wall near a restroom in Seoul Metro's Sindang Station, Friday, where a female subway worker had been killed two days earlier by a male ex-colleague who was accused of stalking and harassing the victim. Yonhap

Yoon vows to enhance protection for stalking victims

By Lee Hyo-jin

A murder case of a female subway worker by a male ex-colleague, which was committed one day before he was to be sentenced on charges of stalking the victim, has triggered public fury over the government's poor response to repeated stalking murders.

The 31-year-old former Seoul Metro employee, identified only by his surname Jeon, allegedly stabbed the 28-year-old woman multiple times with a weapon in a restroom at Sindang Station on Seoul Metro lines 2 and 6, around 9 p.m., Wednesday. The victim was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead after two hours.

Wearing a disposable sanitary cap, Jeon waited for over an hour in the subway station for the victim to show up and followed her as she entered the women's room to patrol the facility. He later told police that the act was premeditated and he had prepared the weapon in advance.

The two used to be colleagues after joining the city's metro operator in 2018, until Jeon was forced to quit in Oct.13, 2021, after facing allegations of stalking, harassment and voyeurism against the victim.

The woman filed a police report against Jeon on Oct. 7, 2021. But a court ended up rejecting a request for an arrest warrant, citing a low risk of him fleeing or destroying evidence.

However, Jeon continued harassing the victim even as the police investigation was ongoing, forcing the woman to file another complaint on Jan. 27 of this year.

The tragic incident came just one day before Jeon's sentencing hearing. Prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison term for Jeon.

This is not the first time Korea has seen stalking crimes result in the death of the victim.

In November 2021, a woman in her 20s was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Kim Byung-chan, in Jung District, Seoul, after he had been stalking her for several months following their breakup. In March of that year, Kim Tae-hyun brutally killed a woman whom he had stalked, along with her mother and younger sister who were present at the time.