• Jeon Joo-hwan was given a 40-year prison term.
• For the murder of a female coworker.
• Who accused him of stalking and harassment, sparking outrage and calls for judicial reform.

A man in South Korea was given a 40-year prison term for the murder of a female coworker who had accused him of stalking and harassment.

After authorities in South Korea failed to effectively respond to the victim’s repeated complaints, the case provoked outrage and calls for judicial reform.

Jeon Joo-hwan, 31, was found guilty of killing the woman with a knife in a Seoul subway bathroom last year.

On Tuesday, a Seoul court ruled that it had been a “revenge killing.”

The court heard that Jeon, a train worker, had developed an obsession with his female coworker, 28, and had stalked and threatened her for two years.

He made more than 300 calls to his coworker, pleading with her to go out with him and threatening to harm her if she didn’t.

He never received a restraining order or was put in jail despite a police investigation and a court request for him to be detained. He was considered “low-risk” by the authorities.

He was ultimately accused of stalking and found guilty. The day before he was scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on those offences on September 14, he tracked down the woman during her work shift in a busy Seoul subway station and killed her in the women’s room.

“From the defendant’s testimony, it appeared he was determined to murder the victim unless she agreed to settle,” the Seoul District Central Court said in its verdict, according to news agency.

The court heard that Jeon believed the woman owed him damages as he had lost his subway job after she reported him to authorities.

In a separate decision on Wednesday, the court rejected the prosecution’s request for Jeon to receive the death penalty, reasoning that given his youth, he might still consider his misdeeds and make amends.

Following the murder, there were calls to improve South Korea’s stalking laws, which include a provision stipulating that offenders can only be brought to justice with the victims’ cooperation.

Critics claimed this made it too simple for bullying victims to get their claims withdrawn.

Although the measure has not yet been approved by parliament, the justice ministry of South Korea has decided to remove the section.

Lawyers protecting victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse urged senators to swiftly enact the bill two weeks ago. They used the instance of a different woman who had recently been stabbed by her stalker as evidence.

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