What did the Supreme Court decide in the Gimhae interfloor noise case?

The Supreme Court convicted a person of stalking for repeatedly making noise toward a neighbor in a rented apartment. It finalized an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and upheld two lower court rulings.

Why did the Supreme Court treat repeated noise-making as stalking?

The court said the behavior was repetitive and persistent enough to foster anxiety or fear and therefore constituted a stalking crime. Investigators also found that the acts were done out of malice stemming from the accused’s complaint about noise from the upstairs family.

How many times did the defendant make noise in the apartment dispute?

The accused made noise on 31 occasions in October and November 2021. The acts included banging on the ceiling with an instrument, blaring loud songs toward the ceiling, and yelling so the upstairs family could hear it.

Top court issues first conviction under stalking law

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Summary

The Supreme Court of Korea convicted a person of stalking in Gimhae on Thursday over repeated noise-making directed at a neighbor, marking the first such conviction in an interfloor noise dispute. The court finalized an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and upheld two lower court rulings. The accused had made noise during early mornings on 31 occasions in October and November 2021. The court said the conduct was repetitive and persistent enough to cause anxiety or fear.

Key Facts

The noise-making happened in a rented apartment in Gimhae, 303 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The acts took place during the early morning on 31 occasions in October and November 2021.
Police later found spots sunken from the beatings on the apartment ceiling.

Published Dec 14, 2023 4:30 pm KST
Updated Dec 15, 2023 8:59 am KST

The building of the Supreme Court of Korea is shown in this file photo, Sept. 25. Newsis

The Supreme Court convicted a person of stalking Thursday for repeatedly pestering a neighbor with noise in an interfloor noise dispute, marking the first stalking conviction in such cases.

The convicted individual was charged with deliberately making noise in his rented apartment in Gimhae, 303 kilometers southeast of Seoul, during the early morning on a total of 31 occasions in October and November 2021.

He banged on his apartment's ceiling with an instrument, blared loud songs directed toward the ceiling or yelled, producing noise that could be heard by the family living one floor upstairs.

The family upstairs kept a daily log of the noise and reported it to the police, who later found spots sunken from the beatings on his apartment ceiling.

Later investigations showed that the person had committed the acts out of malice stemming from what he called noise from the family living upstairs.

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for the person, on stalking charges, upholding the rulings by two lower courts.

"The accused's behavior was repetitive and persistent enough to foster anxiety or fear and constitute a stalking crime," the top court said.

A Supreme Court official added that Thursday's ruling marks the first court decision recognizing deliberate and repeated noise-making targeting a neighbor as stalking. (Yonhap)

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