August 6, 2025
SEOUL – Over the past three years, at least 14 women have been killed despite being granted protective measures by police.
In all but one of the cases, the perpetrator was a former romantic partner.
These women had reported threats and violence. Police responded with measures designed for people at risk of revenge attacks: special patrols, smartwatches designed to send emergency signals to police, and temporary protection orders. Yet, without the legal authority to isolate their attackers, officers were often unable to intervene effectively.
While laws exist to specifically address domestic violence and stalking, there is no separate legal framework targeting dating violence, leaving a blind spot in law enforcement.
According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to lawmaker Rep. Kim Nam-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, 14 women under police protection died between 2022 and July 2025 ― five deaths in 2022, three in 2023, two in 2024 and four more in the first half of this year.
Six of the perpetrators were ex-boyfriends, followed by three legal spouses, two common-law partners, two ex-husbands and one former colleague.
Their victims are particularly vulnerable, as perpetrators are familiar with the victim’s routines and whereabouts.
Police can request the courts to order the temporary separation of a couple or a partner’s detention in cases of stalking or violence within legal or common-law marriages.
However, they cannot do so in the case of unmarried couples unless stalking can be proven. This means that even when a woman is identified as being in danger, authorities may have limited powers to act if the alleged abuser is not her husband.
“Dating violence often does not meet the legal definition of stalking or domestic abuse,” said a senior police official. “We often can’t issue emergency orders or detain the perpetrator unless there’s a pattern that fits narrow criteria. That delay can cost lives.”
Dating violence victims are frequently reluctant to pursue charges, due to emotional dependence, financial entanglement or fear of reprisals. This has led to calls for stronger state intervention through legislation, regardless of the victim’s expressed wishes, particularly in high-risk cases.
Late last month, police reported four stalking-related cases within six days. Three involved dating violence, two of which ended in murder.
All the victims had reported their abusers. In only one of those cases did police seek to detain the suspect under the anti-stalking law, but even that was rejected by prosecutors.
In Daejeon, a woman had filed four reports against her former boyfriend in just a year, yet he was only charged with assault and trespassing. Days before her death, she called police again to make a new report, only for officers to close the case after she said the situation had been “resolved.”
The controversial clause preventing prosecution if the victim objects was removed from the anti-stalking law in 2023, but this does not extend to dating violence unless it meets the definition of stalking. As a result, suspects cannot be detained under the law unless their conduct checks specific boxes.
Nine bills relating to dating violence are currently pending in the National Assembly, proposing either a new dating violence prevention act or amendments to existing domestic or stalking laws to include dating relationships. But debate has stalled, in part due to disagreements over how to define a “dating relationship” in legal terms.
By contrast, countries such as the United States, UK, Japan and Australia typically include dating relationships under their domestic violence frameworks, recognizing the unique danger posed by abusers with personal proximity and emotional control over victims.
Experts agree that timing is critical. A 2024 study published by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice found that 80 percent of repeat intimate partner assaults occur within a month of the initial offense, and that the time between attacks shrinks with each new incident.
Women’s rights advocates say the government has failed to grasp the scale of the problem.
“There isn’t even official data on dating violence,” said an official at the Korea Women’s Hotline. “We’re manually counting cases from newspapers. Without understanding the scope, we can’t plan effective policies or allocate resources.”
Separately, police are now pushing for reform. A road map released Tuesday proposed allowing police to bypass prosecutors and directly request court-issued protection measures in cases of stalking or domestic violence. Currently, if prosecutors reject the request, no separation can be enforced.
This request for reform follows widespread outrage after a stalking victim in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, was murdered just days after prosecutors rejected a police request for a temporary restraining order.
