'Seoul Station Random Assault' and Other Crimes Targeting Women Continue
89.2% of Violent Crime Victims in 2018 Were Women... Nearly 9 out of 10
Some Call for "Strict Punishment of Misogynistic Crimes"... Experts Advise "Careful Use of Terms"
The police applied for an arrest warrant on the 3rd for Lee Mo (32), who is accused of fleeing after hitting the face of a woman in her 30s at Seoul Station, causing injury. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern reporter Juhyung Lim] A so-called 'Seoul Station random assault' incident occurred where a man in his 30s violently attacked a woman he did not know at Seoul Station, causing injury, sparking strong condemnation of violent crimes against women. Some have pointed to this issue as a misogynistic crime and called for increased social attention.
However, experts advise caution in using the term 'misogynistic crime' since it is not an official criminological term.
The Seoul Metropolitan Railroad Police under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that they have applied for an arrest warrant for Lee (32), who is suspected of assaulting a woman in her 30s at Seoul Station and fleeing the scene.
The railroad police, together with Yongsan Police Station, made an emergency arrest of Lee at his home in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, at around 7:15 p.m. on the 2nd.
Lee struck the victim, A, on the left side of her face at around 1:50 p.m. on the 26th of last month on the first floor of Seoul Station. Due to the assault, A suffered injuries including a laceration near her left eye and a depressed left cheekbone. Lee fled immediately after the assault, following the direction of the Model Taxi stand near Exit 15 of Seoul Station.
In police questioning, A stated, "While riding the escalator toward the Airport Railroad entrance, a man approached and bumped into my shoulder," adding, "He then cursed and hit my face."
A post uploaded by the victim of the so-called 'Seoul Station random assault incident' on their social network service (SNS) account. / Photo by Online Community Capture
Violent crimes targeting women continue to occur. On the 2nd, Choi Seongjong (31), who is suspected of murdering two women and abandoning their bodies, was sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.
During police investigation, Choi reportedly stated that his motive was, "I asked the victims to repay gambling debts, but they scolded me about gambling and seemed to ignore me, which made me angry."
According to the 'Crime Analysis' statistics published annually by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the proportion of female victims in violent and heinous crimes such as murder, robbery, and sexual assault rose from 29.9% in 1995 to 89.2% in 2018. This means that 9 out of 10 victims of heinous crimes in Korea are women.
Given this situation, women also feel greater anxiety about violent crimes compared to men. According to 'Women's Lives in Statistics 2019' released by Statistics Korea in July last year, 57% of women felt 'anxious' about crime occurrence, which is 12.5 percentage points higher than men (44.5%).
Some have defined such crimes targeting women as 'misogynistic crimes' and called for social attention.
Office worker B (27) said, "Violent crimes against women are malicious misogynistic crimes because they involve violence only against women who are socially and physically more vulnerable," adding, "I think it is necessary to severely punish perpetrators to raise social awareness about misogyny."
Another office worker, C (28), also pointed out, "I have never heard of news where someone who committed a random crime out of anger assaulted people who appeared physically stronger than themselves," adding, "It is selective anger directed only at those perceived as lower."
The family of victim A, who first reported the 'Seoul Station random assault' incident on the 30th of last month, wrote on social media, "If (A) had been a strong man or had been with a man, would this accident have happened?" emphasizing, "This is not just my sister's problem, but my problem, our family's problem, women's problem, and ultimately a societal problem."
However, experts suggest caution in defining such incidents as 'misogynistic crimes.'
Earlier, Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University appeared on CBS's 'Sisa Jaki Jung Kwan-yong' on the 15th of last month and said, "When a certain term becomes the subject, it can dominate people's consciousness," adding, "Since 'misogynistic crime' is not an official criminological term, its widespread use could ironically foster the perception that women are targets of hatred, so we must be cautious."
In a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 4th, Professor Lee explained, "The term 'misogynistic crime' is vague and may make it difficult to analyze causes or propose countermeasures for the actual phenomenon."
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