A man who menacingly approached a woman he claimed to have fallen in love with over Facebook pictures was arrested on Tuesday for violating the information protection law.

The Seoul Seongdong Police said the 28-year-old, surnamed Jeon, had searched for the victim’s private number, bombarded her with over 500 text messages in a week and stalked her in her residential neighborhood and at her workplace. 

 

According to the police, Jeon started expressing his one-sided affection for the 27-year-old victim since January, claiming he was smitten with her photos.

The victim ran a Facebook page under her real name to promote the products from the company where she worked. She occasionally posted photos of herself on the page, which was how Jeon found her.

The victim said she responded politely to Jeon in the beginning lest she harm the company’s hospitable image.

However, when she did not reciprocate Jeon’s wishes to meet in person, Jeon began to send her threatening messages about unsolicited visits.

The victim reported Jeon to the police towards the end of June by which time he became very intimidating.

Jeon demanded to see the victim at her workplace on June 24 but was deterred by the police who came to the scene.

Four days later on June 28, he visited the victim’s residential area and left a message that he came looking for her.

Jeon was brought into police custody after publicly saying he would “terrorize the victim.” He reportedly told the police that he had thought the victim was interested in him, too.

Police investigation revealed Jeon was military discharged and unemployed. He had no criminal record.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)