Police Arrest 54,000 People for 'Crimes Infringing on Ordinary Citizens' Livelihoods' Over 3 Months

Intensive Crackdown on Robbery, Theft, and Domestic Violence
Focus on 'Restorative Policing'
Recovered Stolen Goods Worth 17.4 Billion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) announced on the 13th that it conducted a focused crackdown on 'intrusion robbery and theft, and crimes infringing on the daily lives of ordinary citizens' from March to May, arresting a total of 54,360 people.

By type, 22,679 robbery and theft offenders were arrested, with 956 detained. Among them, 1,967 were arrested for intrusion robbery and theft at residences and commercial establishments, with 335 detained. Additionally, through tracing the disposal and distribution routes of stolen goods, 151 individuals involved in the purchase and distribution of stolen property were also arrested under the Stolen Property Act. In particular, the police conducted tracking investigations on theft offenders targeting unmanned stores, resulting in 510 cases and 359 arrests.

Among the arrested suspects, 67.5% were repeat offenders (74.0% for robbery, 67.4% for theft), with 46.9% of them having prior convictions for similar crimes. The largest age group among suspects was seniors aged 60 and over, accounting for 24.8%. The police referred 1,634 cases involving first-time or minor offenders to the Minor Crime Review Committee. The police also recovered 18,077 stolen items worth approximately 17.4 billion KRW.

Furthermore, 31,681 people were arrested for crimes related to violence in daily life, with 853 detained. This figure is 5,090 more per month than the 10,941 arrests made in the two months prior to the crackdown. Among types of violence in daily life, assault and injury accounted for 60.5%, followed by obstruction of business and property damage (19.2%), obstruction of official duties (6.7%), dine and dash (5.9%), and threats, coercion, and extortion (4.7%). The majority of victims were local residents (37.5%) and merchants (27.6%). The police carried out restorative criminal activities, including 4,648 customized protection and support measures for victims.

The police plan to conduct visible preventive activities focusing on crime-prone areas and times, and will strictly respond with detention investigations as a principle for cases involving significant harm to protect the lives of ordinary citizens. A police official stated, "With the recent increase in unmanned stores, crimes targeting cash inside stores are on the rise," and urged, "Please take care to install separate locks on cash storage locations such as bill exchangers to prevent becoming targets of crime."