Violations of court-ordered temporary measures for domestic violence and provisional measures for stalking, both designed to keep abusers away from victims, exceeded 1,800 cases in the first seven months of this year. That works out to more than eight cases a day, prompting calls to make the protective measures more effective.
Data submitted by the National Police Agency to the office of Rep. Jung Choon-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party showed 1,027 violations of domestic violence temporary measures between January and July, according to figures released on the 13th. A temporary measure is a victim protection order that prosecutors request from a court, either on their own authority or at the request of a judicial police officer, when domestic violence is likely to recur.
Violations have climbed every year, from 531 in 2021 to 700 in 2022, 861 in 2023, 996 in 2024 and 1,406 in 2025. This year the total passed 1,000 in just seven months.
Violations of stalking provisional measures totaled 799 over the same period. A provisional measure is a court order barring a suspect from approaching a victim, among other restrictions, to prevent stalking from recurring. Breaches rose steadily from 58 in 2021 to 533 in 2022, 636 in 2023, 878 in 2024 and 1,103 in 2025.
Combined, the two categories recorded 1,826 violations from January through July, an average of 8.6 a day. That already amounts to 72.8% of the 2,509 violations recorded for all of last year. Given that this year's figures cover only seven months, the annual total could exceed last year's level if the current pace continues.
Police attribute the rise to an increase in reports of domestic violence and stalking, which has led to more protective orders and, in turn, more breaches of them. In stalking cases, officers are using tools such as the written warning that constitutes the first type of provisional measure to prevent further offenses. In domestic violence cases, they are responding by requesting temporary measures and monitoring victims.
Still, the repeated breaches of court orders meant to secure victims' safety have raised questions about whether the current protective measures are enough to stop suspects from approaching victims and committing further offenses.
