Legal gap: Despite years of rising cases, the absence of a dedicated law addressing dating violence continues to leave victims exposed and authorities constrained even as political leaders promise action. — File photo
A court here on Dec 16 last year upheld a lower court’s conviction of a 33-year-old man in Jeonju who assaulted his girlfriend so severely that she fled onto a window ledge and fell to her death.
According to the ruling, the victim had been subjected to repeated violence, including blows to the face and resulting in fractured ribs, before she tried to escape.
She died not because she was alone, but because the system meant to protect her had failed to intervene before the abuse turned fatal.
Her death has become the latest and starkest example of what women’s rights advocates describe as South Korea’s most persistent legal blind spot – violence committed by a romantic partner that is still treated, in practice, as a private dispute rather than a public crime.
Despite years of rising cases, police officers on the ground, prosecutors and legal scholars say the absence of a dedicated law addressing dating violence continues to leave victims exposed and authorities constrained even as political leaders promise action.
In June, shortly after taking office, President Lee Jae-myung said his administration would establish South Korea’s first official database tracking crimes that can be classified as dating violence.
“There will be analysis and responses based on comprehensive data on convicted cases, in order to prevent and root out murder related to dating,” Lee said during the presidential campaign.
Long overdue: Shortly after taking office, Lee (centre) said his administration would establish South Korea’s first official database tracking crimes that can be classified as dating violence. — AFP
Legal experts say the initiative addresses only part of the problem.
“Without a legal framework designed for intimate partner violence, gathering data does not translate into protection,” said Professor Won Hye-wook from Inha University Law School.
Police data show reported dating violence cases have risen steadily over the past three years, reaching 88,379 in 2024.
This is higher than other official police statistics, as most cases were dropped before a formal case file was opened.
Women’s rights groups say the true scale is likely far larger, as many victims hesitate to report abuse out of fear of retaliation.
Korea Women’s Hot-Line said more than half of the women who contacted the group in 2024 reported violence by a current or former romantic partner.
Physical assault accounted for the majority of those cases.
In its review of media-reported incidents alone, the group found that 181 women were killed in 2024 by husbands or current or former partners, with 396 attempted murders.
“Every 15.8 hours, a woman’s life is threatened by someone she is or was intimate with,” the group said, adding that people close to victims are also frequently targeted.
The group’s count is substantially higher than the official police statistics, which counts 140 female homicide victims regardless of age and relationship to the killer.
Despite the rising number of cases, South Korea has no criminal standard for dating violence.
Instead, such cases are prosecuted under statutes covering assault, intimidation or stalking, laws that scholars say fail to reflect the dynamics of abuse rooted in intimate relationships.
This legal structure has direct consequences. Several of those crimes cannot be prosecuted against the victim’s will.
If a victim asks the police not to punish the perpetrator, authorities may have no legal basis to proceed.
Stalking legislation has been introduced, but Prof Won says it is not able to plug the gaps.
“Stalking crimes are focused on the act of stalking, but dating violence is a notion based on the romantic relationship between the perpetrator and the victim,” Prof Won wrote in A Study On The Necessity And Legislative Form Of Dating Violence Punishment Act.
“Stalking can be done without being based on a romantic relationship, and there are various forms of dating violence other than stalking.
“As such, there are limits to punishing dating violence based on the stalking punishment law,” she wrote.
As a result, repeated abuse can continue until it escalates into serious injury or death.
According to police data disclosed by Representative Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party, more than half of suspected dating violence cases reported between January and July 2024 were closed at the scene without a formal investigation.
Police cited the victim’s unwillingness to pursue punishment as the most common reason.
“Officers on site face complaints from victims who say, ‘What can you do for us when there is not even a related law,’” said Yeo Gae-myeong, director of the women’s safety planning division at the National Police Agency, during a December debate on dating violence legislation hosted by Korea Women’s Hot-Line in Seoul.
The director said the absence of a clear legal basis limits the ability of the police to impose protective measures, even in cases where repeated abuse is evident.
Lawmakers have attempted to address the gap, but without success.
Multiple Bills proposing a legal definition of dating violence and stronger protections were introduced during the 20th and 21st national assemblies.
None were passed.
As a result, dating violence continues to be handled through fragmented legal provisions, often only after it escalates into stalking or homicide.
“Dating violence must be structured in a framework that considers the characteristics of the intimate relationship,” said researcher Jang-Im Dae-hye from the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, speaking at the same forum.
“The court must be able to enforce various protective measures at its discretion, based on the situation of the victim and the perpetrator,” she said.
Advocates argue that the continued absence of a dedicated law reflects structural weaknesses in how intimate partner violence is addressed.
Deputy chief of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Centre Choi Ran said there should be a single law designed with a clear legislative direction, rather than multiple fragmented Bills that fail to reflect the unique characteristics of dating violence.
Without such a framework, experts warn that authorities will continue responding only after abuse reaches its most extreme consequences. — The Korea Herald/ANN
