{
  "id": 4118581,
  "title": "Woman fined for repeatedly banging ceiling over upstairs noise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/woman-fined-for-repeatedly-banging-ceiling-over-upstairs-noise",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T06:02:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20260829/woman-fined-for-repeatedly-banging-ceiling-over-upstairs-noise"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A woman in her 50s has been fined 2 million won ($1,400) and ordered to complete 40 hours of a treatment program for stalking offenses. The punishment was handed down by the Chuncheon District Court in South Korea. The woman, referred to as A, allegedly committed nine instances of stalking her upstairs neighbor, B, between March 17 and May 11 last year in an apartment complex in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. A's actions involved striking the ceiling with a backscratcher and communicating through the building's intercom system to complain about the neighbor's noise. The court deemed A's behavior to be a violation of the Act on Punishment of Crimes of Stalking. The neighbor, identified as B, a woman in her 40s, had been requesting A to keep the noise down since January of the previous year. Despite B's requests, the issue persisted. In response to B's plea to stop contacting her directly over the intercom, A continued her aggressive behavior, leading to the court's decision.",
  "summary": "A woman in her 50s has been fined for repeatedly banging on her ceiling with a backscratcher and contacting her upstairs neighbor over noise, with a court ruling that her actions amounted to stalking. The Chuncheon District Court fined the 55-year-old woman, identified only as A, 2 million won ($1,400) for violating the Act on Punishment of Crimes of Stalking, according to legal sources Saturday.…",
  "key_points": [
    "Woman fined 2 million won for nine stalking incidents",
    "Alleged ceiling banging and intercom complaints to neighbor",
    "Court deemed behavior violation of stalking crime act"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The court's decision sets a precedent that persistent, unwanted contact over noise complaints can be considered stalking, potentially giving more protection to victims of prolonged harassment.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Woman fined for repeatedly banging ceiling over upstairs noise",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/woman-fined-for-repeatedly-banging-ceiling-over-upstairs-noise-4120017",
        "published": "2026-08-29T06:07:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}