In the Past 5 Years, Reports of 'Date Violence' Have Doubled... But Nearly Half Fewer Arrests

Im Ho-seon Lawmaker "High Likelihood of Serious Crime Escalation"

Im Ho-seon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Reports of dating violence have more than doubled over the past five years, but the number of arrests has nearly halved.

According to data received on the 24th from the National Police Agency by Lim Ho-seon, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of dating violence reports last year was 18,945, more than double the 9,364 cases reported in 2016. The most frequently reported crime type was assault and injury, which surged by 89%, from 6,483 cases in 2016 to 12,256 cases last year.

On the other hand, the number of arrests increased from 8,367 in 2016 to 10,303 in 2017 but then declined to 8,982 last year. In particular, the number of detentions dropped by 46.3%, from 449 in 2016 to 241 last year. The detention investigation rate decreased across all crime types except murder and attempted murder. For sexual violence, it fell from 33% in 2016 to 25.5% last year, a 7.5 percentage point drop, and for arrest, confinement, and threats, it declined from 13.4% to 5.6% during the same period, a 7.8 percentage point decrease.

Assemblyman Lim pointed out that there is no specific legal basis for dating violence, so investigations tend to proceed under general criminal law provisions such as assault. However, he warned that cases like the 'Nowon Three Mothers Murder Case' show a high likelihood of escalating into serious crimes such as murder, rape, or habitual assault.

Lim said, "Dating violence is a crime that occurs within close relationships where the perpetrator has sufficient personal information about the victim, such as family, home, and workplace addresses, which has been overlooked," and added, "Measures equivalent to those under the Stalking Punishment Act or Domestic Violence Punishment Act, such as restraining orders and detention in jails or detention centers, should be implemented."