Government develops app to show real-time location of stalkers

South Korean authorities are developing a mobile app for stalking victims to track their stalker’s location in real time if they are nearby.

The app, announced by South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, is part of approved amendments to the country’s electronic surveillance law.

Stalkers have become a topic of public concern in South Korea, especially as high-profile stalking crimes have made headlines in recent years.

Under current laws, stalking victims can receive text message alerts when a stalker is nearby – although these alerts do not reveal the stalker’s exact location.

This makes it difficult for victims to determine the direction of the perpetrator, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

Under the revised law, victims will be able to use their smartphones to view their stalker’s location on a map so they can evacuate to a safe place.

Authorities use wearable electronic devices to track the movements of stalkers.

The Justice Department said it was also working to integrate the tracing system into the national emergency hotline so police could be deployed as needed to protect victims.

The integration is expected to be completed next year, according to local media reports.

Critics have raised concerns about widespread stalking in South Korea, which they see as part of a broader problem of violence against women – many of whom have experienced violence. spy camera secret filming and face Hostile threats to feminists.

In 2022, public outrage erupted murder of a young woman Her former male colleague had been stalking her for years. Although she reported him to police, he was not detained or given a restraining order because authorities deemed him a “low risk.”

In 2021, South Korea introduced an anti-stalking law that punishes offenders with up to three years in prison and fines of up to 30 million won ($20,400; £15,300).

In 2023, the South Korean Parliament revised the law to lower the threshold for prosecuting stalkers.

The number of stalker reports has since surged, from 7,600 in 2022 to more than 13,000 last year, according to the Justice Department.