Going forward, stalking victims will be able to check in real time on their smartphones the location and movement route of offenders wearing electronic monitoring devices.
The Ministry of Justice said on Apr. 5 it has completed development of a mobile application that allows a victim to check the location and movement route on a smartphone map screen when an offender wearing an electronic device approaches within a certain distance.
The app is set to be fully rolled out starting in June after field testing based on various scenarios. Previously, victims were notified of an offender's approach only by text message, but going forward they will be able to visually check the actual location and movement route.
To strengthen victim protection, the Ministry of Justice is also working to link the Korean National Police Agency's 112 system with the ministry's location-tracking system. Once the system is in place, responding officers will be able to grasp in real time the locations and movement routes of both the offender and the victim, which is expected to improve the speed and accuracy of on-site response.
In addition, approach information previously provided to the victim's mobile phone will also be linked to and provided on the smartwatches issued by police.
The Ministry of Justice said it will "continue to prepare effective protection measures with the victim's safety as the top priority and strengthen cooperation with related agencies."