Jeju woman killed by alleged stalker after police repeatedly dismissed stalking, assault reports

A man in his 60s in Jeju City, South Korea, ambushed and killed a woman in the early hours of Oct. 12, the same woman who had previously filed four police reports against him on stalking and sexual violence claims, but which police repeatedly dismissed, reported SBS News. 

Police reported at around 1:38 a.m. on Oct. 12, the man jumped the victim in the street in front of a hotel in Yeon-dong, Jeju City. He allegedly stabbed her with a weapon, killing her on the spot. 

As early as October last year, the woman, who was in her 40s, had already reported the man to police for stalking. According to The Chosun Daily, however, police did not accept the case. They explained the victim did not seem to want to move the investigation forward as she said she did not wish to punish the stalker. 

Per SBS News, citing South Korea's amended Stalking Punishment Act, a filed report automatically begins the processing of a case, regardless of the victim's intentions. 

On March 5, 2026, the victim again reported her stalker to police, but for a sexual violence-related incident. Per the report cited by The Chosun Daily, the victim said the man had threatened to distribute an explicit video of her.

But again, the case was closed because of insufficient evidence. Police said the victim was not cooperative during the investigation, even supposedly failing to show up for victim interrogation following her filing of the report. 

Police explained that because the woman's reports of stalking and sexual violence had been closed, they could not take provisional measures to protect the woman, including issuing a restraining order against the man.

In May, the victim filed more reports against her stalker, this time related to dating violence. All in all, she made four related reports, police said. 

Police did provide the woman with a smartwatch on Sept. 16 and registered her as a safety management target under South Korea's 112 reporting system, the country's primary national emergency hotline for reporting crimes and immediate threats. The smartwatch had an emergency button that could have alerted police.

However, the woman was not able to press the button before she died. According to The Chosun Daily, the alleged murderer told police in a statement that he tore off the woman's smartwatch. Police theorized he grabbed the woman and dragged her away before she could activate her watch or call for help.

Per The Korea Times, police is still carrying out its investigation and plans to file a warrant of arrest against the suspect.