SEOUL - Calls to a South Korean government-operated hotline for stalking victims have more than tripled in the past three years.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The Ministry of Gender Equality and the Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea (WHRIK) reported that the 1366 hotline received 9,017 calls related to stalking in the last year, marking a 3.3-fold increase from 2021.
The escalation in calls began in 2021 with 2,710 incidents reported, rising sharply to 6,766 in 2022. Officials from the WHRIK suggest that the spike in calls correlates with the enforcement of new anti-stalking legislation in July of the previous year, which likely led to increased reporting to law enforcement and the 1366 hotline. Despite the rise in stalking-related inquiries, the overall call volume to the 1366 hotline decreased by 6.2 percent from the previous year, with reductions also noted in reports of domestic violence, sexual violence, and dating violence.