Recently, an unidentified man in Seoul has been sexually harassing a young woman on his way to work by pretending to speak on the phone, but the victims are complaining of anxiety due to lack of punishment.
According to the police today (29th), in the middle of this month, a man who is estimated to be in his 30s in the area of Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu is closely behind women who go to work or go to school to speak obscenely or sexually.
It is reported that the man appears between 8:20 and 9 am, holding his smartphone to his ear, pretending to be talking to someone, evaluating the appearance of a woman in the field, or sharing his sexual experiences.
A woman who had been victimized several times reported to the police but has not yet caught the killer.
The victim, who was extremely stressed about encountering this man every morning, even consulted the police, but gave up formal reporting.
This is because even if a man is arrested, only minor punishment under the current law.
A police official said, "This case may correspond to'creating anxiety' under the Minor Crime Penalty Act, but the penalty is only imposed on the level and the punishment effect is not great."
The penalty imposed for anxiety-promoting acts is 50,000 won.
Apart from the level of punishment, the police tried to prevent additional damage by placing plain-clothed police officers in all areas where men are frequently haunted and strengthening patrols.
As such, it is pointed out that the'cat-calling law' enacted in France in August 2018 is also necessary in Korea.
The Cat Calling Act imposes an instant fine of 90 to 750 euros (approximately 120,000 to 1 million won) to those who harass, such as whistling and flirting at women in public places.
In France, in 2018, along with the Me Too movement, street sexual harassment emerged as a social issue, and the enactment was promoted.