South Korean authorities are developing a mobile app that will allow stalking victims to see the real-time location of their perpetrators if they are nearby. The announcement, made by the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, follows an approved amendment to the country’s electronic monitoring law and is part of a broader effort to address a surge in stalking-related crimes.
Currently, victims receive text alerts when a stalker is in proximity, but these notifications do not specify the perpetrator’s exact location. The new app will display the stalker’s movements on a map, enabling victims to identify the direction of the threat and evacuate to safety. Authorities track stalkers using court-ordered wearable electronic devices.
The ministry also plans to integrate the tracking system with the national emergency hotline, allowing for rapid police deployment when needed. Local media reports indicate this integration is expected to be completed next year.
The move responds to growing public concern over stalking in South Korea—a problem critics link to broader issues of gender-based violence. High-profile cases have exposed flaws in the existing legal response. In 2022, widespread outrage followed the murder of a woman by a male former colleague who had stalked her for years; police had previously assessed him as “low risk” and did not issue a restraining order.
South Korea introduced its first comprehensive anti-stalking law in 2021, which carries penalties of up to three years in prison and significant fines. Revisions in 2023 lowered the threshold for prosecution, leading to a sharp increase in reports—from 7,600 in 2022 to more than 13,000 last year, according to justice ministry data.
The forthcoming app represents one of the most direct technological interventions yet in the country’s ongoing effort to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
By James Kisoo
