- New South Korean app shows stalking victims real-time location of alleged stalkers nearby
- App launched in June uses court-ordered ankle monitor data to alert victims within 2 km radius
- Victims see stalker's position on map; police alerted if stalker nears restricted 1 km zone
A newly launched government mobile application in South Korea allows stalking victims to see the real-time location and movement of their alleged stalker if they are moving towards them in the vicinity. Launched in June this year after changing the electronic monitoring rules to allow location information to be shared directly with the victims, the app already has 400 users.
Using data from court-ordered electronic ankle monitors, the victims are informed when the tagged person has moved within a two km radius. The victim can then see the stalker's position and route on a smartphone map. If the stalker comes within one km of a location covered by a court-ordered provisional restriction, police and probation authorities are notified, according to a report in The Guardian.
Previously, the survivors received only a text message stating a distance with no indication of location. However, the update helps them have a more accurate picture of the stalker's position.
“Waiting with no idea what's happening is deeply distressing,” says Yoon Hyun-bong, who directs the control centre. “A distance alone doesn't tell you which direction he's coming from, but seeing it on a map, you know where to hide.”
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South Korea And Stalking
Government officials are hopeful that the app will help ensure stronger protection for stalking victims. However, the app's effectiveness depends on the court's ordering suspects to wear electronic tags, something that remains relatively rare in South Korean stalking cases.
Around 80 per cent of the stalking victims are women in South Korea. According to data, stalking reports have tripled in four years, reaching 44,687 cases, since a stalking law was introduced in the country in 2021.
The introduction of the app comes in the backdrop of a series of stalking killings that rocked the country. In March, the prosecutors alleged that a man wearing an ankle tag blocked his ex-partner's car as she left work in Namyangju, north-east of Seoul, broke the window with a drill, and stabbed her.
