Woman sentenced to prison for stalking Korean stars Rain and Kim Tae-hee
A woman in South Korea was sentenced to a 6-month prison term after repeatedly stalking singer-actor Rain and his actress wife, Kim Tae-hee. She was also ordered to complete a 40-hour stalking treatment program.
According to The Korea Times, the 49-year-old unnamed woman was found guilty by Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Western District Court of violating the Stalking Punishment Act due to her "continuous and repeated stalking behavior" since 2021.
Korean media outlet AllKpop also reported that the woman, who is said to be suffering from a "mental illness," visited the couple's home "14 times between March and October 2022 while repeatedly ringing the doorbell."
Her case was sent to the prosecution in September of the same year after authorities caught her in the act at the couple's house in February 2022.
During that time, she received three minor penalties, including a fine of less than KRW 100,000 (P4,263.02).
Likewise, reports said that she was also seen visiting the couple in the salon.
While it was the woman's first offense and she did not intend to cause damage, the court is concerned about the possibility of repeating the offenses due to the accused's "unclear residence and lack of family support for treatment," as per the Korea JoongAng Daily.
"However, the criminal act of constant stalking against the couple cannot be seen lightly," it added.
The prosecution demanded a one-year sentence and mandatory stalking treatment, highlighting the trauma inflicted by the defendant's actions.
However, given the offender's mental health situation and probable recurrence of offenses, the court determined that detention, treatment, and education are necessary steps to avoid such conduct since they believe the offender may have committed the acts when "mentally and physically vulnerable."
This is not the first time that a woman was also arrested due to stalking. The woman, who was said to be in her twenties, followed the BTS' V into the elevator of his apartment building on Oct. 26, at around 6:30 p.m. KST. She was suspected of waiting for the K-pop idol outside the building and following him when his car entered the property's parking area. She handed him a marriage certificate.
A security guard attempted to stop her but she ran away. However, she was arrested the following morning by the police, with the name and information she provided on the marriage certificate she handed to V. It was also reported that the woman had a history of stalking the star.
