(123rf)

A Seoul court on Monday sentenced a man to a one-year prison term for stalking his former girlfriend by leaving hundreds of unwanted messages and calls and visiting the victim's home and work.

The Seoul Central District Court found the defendant guilty of violating the Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking, which punishes stalking with up to three years in jail or a 30 million won ($21,500) fine.

The defendant contacted the victim regularly against her wishes after they broke up in April. At one point he sent what was deemed a threatening message that said, "I will see whether or not you have regrets for the rest of your life, once I die."

The couple briefly got back together soon after, but broke up again in May. The defendant then left 310 messages and calls for the victim over two days and left flowers and letters at the victim's home and workplace.

The court pointed out that continuous calls, messages and gifts against the victim's will caused damage to the victim, along with the defendant approaching the victim and waiting for her at her workplace.

"Stalking crimes inflict substantial anxiety and fear upon the victim and have the potential to lead to other crimes. Based on the nature and method of the crime, the victim would have been placed under considerable fear and anxiety," the court said in its verdict.

South Korea has been punishing stalking -- which was previously charged under related laws such as minor offenses or breaking and entering -- since the enactment of the anti-stalking law in 2021. But there have been complaints that most of the convicts escape with relatively light punishments.

According to Supreme Court data, only 17 percent of the 2,621 cases related to stalking in 2023 resulted in jail time, with most perpetrators being sentenced to a fine or a suspended jail term.

The Supreme Court, in March, introduced a new standard for sentencing stalking crimes, saying those who stalked the victim with a weapon could be punished by up to five years in prison.