Personal Safety Protection

A legal and administrative system for protecting the life and physical safety of crime victims, witnesses, and others.

Personal Safety Protection

Overview

Personal safety protection (신변보호) is a system through which the state secures the safety of crime victims, witnesses, reporters, and others through legal and administrative measures when their life or physical safety is threatened by offenders or third parties. Beyond simple police patrols, various means are mobilized, including protection of residences, location tracking, identity changes, and economic support. As the importance of victim protection throughout criminal justice procedures has grown, personal safety protection has become a core element of modern legal systems.

Key Aspects

Concept and Legal Basis

Personal safety protection is a system that concretizes the constitutional right to life and bodily freedom and is based on individual statutes. Representative laws include the Act on Protection of Specific Crime Reporters, etc.; the Crime Victim Protection Act; the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes, etc.; the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Domestic Violence Crimes, etc.; the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, etc.; and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, etc. These laws prescribe protected persons, types of protective measures, procedures, and responsible agencies.

Protected Persons

The main subjects are crime victims and their families, eyewitnesses and witnesses, crime reporters, and cooperators. In particular, victims of stalking, domestic violence, child abuse, sexual violence, and human trafficking; witnesses in organized crime and drug crime cases; and public interest whistleblowers receive priority protection. Recently, discussions have been active on including victims of digital sexual crimes and victims of deepfake abuse within the scope of personal safety protection.

Major Protective Measures

Physical protection: patrols around residences, installation of CCTV, provision of safe temporary accommodation, and distribution of self-defense items
Location tracking and emergency rescue: provision of smartwatches and location-tracking devices, and linkage with 112 emergency reports
Legal protection: orders prohibiting the offender from approaching, provisional measures, restrictions on disclosure of identity information, and personal safety protection for witnesses
Identity change: support for changing the names and resident registration numbers of witnesses and victims (Act on Protection of Specific Crime Reporters, etc.)
Economic support: partial support for living expenses, relocation expenses, and medical expenses

Procedures and Agencies

When a victim or reporter requests personal safety protection from the police (112) or the prosecution, the police assess the risk and designate a personal safety protection officer. Thereafter, protective measures are decided in consultation with the prosecution and the courts, and when necessary, the National Police, municipal police, probation offices, and victim support centers cooperate. In stalking cases, emergency measures and provisional measures are taken promptly under the Stalking Punishment Act.

Limitations and Problems

Personal safety protection faces limitations such as shortages of personnel and budget, heavy workloads of responsible officers, controversy over the effectiveness of protective measures, and concerns about secondary victimization of victims. It has also been pointed out that immediate response is difficult when an offender approaches for retaliation. Infringement of the privacy of protected persons and the limited duration of protection are also cited as tasks for improvement.

Recent Trends

In 2024–2025, with the amendment of the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes, etc., the provision that offenses cannot be punished against the victim's will was abolished, and provisional measures and the attachment of electronic location-tracking devices were strengthened. In addition, as deepfake sexual crimes and online stalking have emerged as social problems, the establishment of a digital personal safety protection system is being pursued. The police are introducing an AI-based risk assessment system and real-time location monitoring, and are expanding the distribution of customized smartwatches for victims. In addition, the trend is to simplify identity-change procedures for protected persons and increase collaboration with private victim support organizations.