Croatia Travel Nightmare: Korean Woman’s Experience Exposes Legal Challenges

Croatia Travel Nightmare: Korean Woman’s Experience Exposes Legal Challenges

2024-04-17 11:38:28

◀ Anchor ▶

Croatia, located on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, has recently emerged as a popular travel destination thanks to its beautiful scenery.

A Korean woman who traveled here reported to MBC that she was the victim of a serious crime.

They say that even if they want to punish the perpetrator, they have no choice but to do so because local and domestic laws are different.

The report was reported by MBC and reporter Cho Jae-young.

◀ Report ▶

Croatia is a European resort country that was the setting for the movie ‘Avatar’ with its mysterious scenery.

Recently, low-cost direct flights have been launched and are gaining great popularity among domestic tourists.

In March of last year, Eunji went on a trip to Europe and stayed in Europe for three months to celebrate her job search.

In Croatia, I became a lover with a local man who worked at a travel agency.

However, following returning to Korea, I found out that the man was seeing another woman at the same time.

[은지(가명, 음성변조)]

″I felt very betrayed. At the time we were dating, I never thought he was that kind of person.”

When I broke up with him, the man suddenly changed.

They started threatening, saying, “There is an illegal video of Eunji.”

They invited a group of Croatian acquaintances to a screening of the video and insulted her by lying and calling her a “mentally abnormal woman.”

Eunji immediately filed a case with investigative agencies in both Croatia and Korea.

I have also completed preparations to leave the country to be investigated in person.

However, just one month following filing, and without even investigating the victim, Croatian prosecutors decided not to indict.

According to Croatian law, the filing period is ‘within 3 months of the incident’, but this period has passed.

It was a crime, but it was not investigated or punished.

In fact, only 8 days had passed since 3 months when the complaint was filed.

[이종혁/피해자 측 변호사]

″It took time to understand the content of the threat, which was in Croatian, and the fact that the video was shown. It appears that there is no legal opinion on this kind of thing…”

Under Korean law, it is a serious crime with a maximum penalty of 7 years in prison, and the statute of limitations is 7 years.

However, the case was ‘suspended’ in Korea as well.

The police applied for an arrest warrant, but the prosecution did not request a warrant, saying, “There is no practical benefit because he is a foreigner living abroad.”

I have also requested consular assistance from the embassy, ​​but I am in a difficult situation, saying, “There is nothing more I can ask for in terms of procedures, as this is the local law.”

[은지(가명, 음성변조)]

″Why do I have to live a life like this? If you threaten, you will be threatened. If you say, ‘I will leak it,’ it will be leaked. You can’t do anything.”

The male perpetrator, who was not punished, continues to work as a tour guide for tourists.

Recently, he posted a photo taken with another Korean woman on social media at the date where he took Eunji.

[은지(가명, 음성변조)]

″I’m following a lot of Korean women (on social media). I thought it was quite possible for further damage to occur.”

When the coverage began, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, “We will post a ‘safety-related notice’ on the embassy website to prevent recurrence of similar cases.”

This is Jo Jae-young from MBC News.

Video coverage: Younggeun Jang / Video editing: Hwayoung Lee

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