[Exclusive] "Threatened with a weapon, sexual harassment, and hidden camera" Subway sexual crimes increase by 64%

Subway Police Station Reports
Illegal Filming and Sexual Harassment Complaints
834 Cases Recorded by September This Year
Far Exceeding Last Year's Count

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Sexual crimes such as forced molestation on the subway and hidden camera incidents in restrooms have been rapidly increasing. As of September this year, a total of 834 cases have been reported, surpassing last year's total of 507 cases.

According to data on 'Yearly Reports of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Crimes on the Subway' submitted by the Subway Police to Kang Deuk-gu of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 19th, 834 sexual crimes (332 cases of illegal filming, 502 cases of sexual harassment) were reported by September this year. This is a 64% increase compared to the total number of reports last year (507 cases, 172 illegal filming cases, 335 sexual harassment cases) in just nine months. Looking at the yearly figures, reports of sexual crimes on the subway were 671 cases in 2018 and 679 cases in 2019, dropped to 507 cases in 2020, and surged again to 834 cases this year.

On the 6th, an incident occurred on Subway Line 1 where a man in his 80s sexually harassed and assaulted a female passenger. In July, on a train heading from Yongsan Station to Noryangjin Station, a passenger threatened a woman in her 20s with a weapon, slapped her multiple times, and then committed sexual harassment.

(Source: Kang Deuk-gu, Democratic Party of Korea, Subway Police Department)

(Source: Kang Deuk-gu, Democratic Party of Korea, Metropolitan Police Agency)

Looking at the handling status of sexual crimes on the subway, as of September 2021, a total of 703 cases occurred, of which 546 were apprehended. The Subway Police explained, "Since sexual crime cases reported to local police stations are transferred to the Subway Police for handling, the number of occurrences may be higher than the number of reports."

Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University said in a phone interview with this publication, "Recently, the installation of CCTV in subways has increased, and crackdowns on digital sexual crimes such as illegal filming on the subway have been strengthened, so it may be an optical illusion that many crimes have suddenly increased." She added, "Rather than simply strengthening punishment levels, thorough prevention and social awareness changes should precede."