'Jupok' Violence Threatening Merchants... 2,700 Intoxication Reports Daily

About 1 Million Reports Related to Intoxicated Persons Last Year
Many Cases Leading to Violent Crimes Such as Murder

#On the evening of the 18th at around 10:30 PM in Dobong-gu, Seoul, a man in his 60s, intoxicated, was arrested by the police on charges of special intimidation and property damage after threatening bar employees with a weapon. It was confirmed that the man caused a disturbance at a table in front of the bar and, when warned by the police, brandished a weapon at the employees and demanded, "Who reported us?" During the police investigation, the man admitted to the charges and stated that he was intoxicated.

#On the morning of the 4th at around 7:50 AM, a man in his 50s, also intoxicated, caused a disturbance at a convenience store in Dobong-gu, Seoul, and was arrested on charges of obstruction of business. The man was seen verbally abusing the staff and throwing refrigerated drinks onto the floor. He continued to verbally abuse and curse the police officers who arrived after the report, turning the convenience store into chaos.

On the morning of the 4th, around 7:50 AM, a man in his 50s intoxicated with alcohol was causing a disturbance at a convenience store in Dobong-gu, Seoul. [Photo by National Police Agency YouTube]

Criminal acts such as disturbances, assaults, threats, and sexual assaults by intoxicated individuals have been on the rise again since the onset of COVID-19. Although the issue of crimes committed by intoxicated persons has been a serious social problem for several years, there have been no effective measures, and the problem continues to grow year by year.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of 112 emergency calls related to intoxicated individuals reached 984,411 last year. This is about a 25% increase compared to approximately 790,000 calls in 2021, averaging 2,697 calls per day. Professor Lee Geon-su of the Department of Police Administration at Baekseok University said, "This increase is not only because the COVID-19 pandemic has ended but also because more people are experiencing economic difficulties. When practical issues such as unemployment arise, the number of intoxicated individuals increases, inevitably leading to these problems."

Incidents involving intoxicated individuals are problematic because of their strong association with violent and serious crimes. Among the 279,789 violent crimes that occurred in 2022, 77,373 were related to intoxicated violence, accounting for about 27.6% of the total. Because of this, merchants near entertainment districts with many bars are always uneasy. Especially with Chuseok approaching, there are growing concerns that the number of intoxicated individuals will increase.

Mr. Lee (63), who runs a restaurant in Guro-gu, Seoul, complained while cleaning cigarette butts piled up in front of his store, "Drunk people leave these every day, and if I say something, I’m afraid they might retaliate, so I just quietly clean them up." He added, "There are so many cases of customers causing trouble or acting violently that I’m scared to work alone. I’m worried because more people will be drinking during Chuseok."

Mr. Park (54), who operates a convenience store near a bar street in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, said, "Recently, a heavily intoxicated person caused a disturbance at the convenience store, so I’m very worried. Sales are not high during late-night hours, and with so many dangerous incidents, I’m thinking about closing the store." Mr. Oh (26), who works at a nearby cafe, also confessed, "Even in the morning, most customers come in intoxicated. I’ve worked many part-time jobs, but I’ve never felt this uneasy before."

A street near Jamsilsaenae Station in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where entertainment facilities have been established. This is unrelated to the article content. [Photo by Yonhap News]

The police explained that as the seriousness of crimes related to intoxicated individuals increases, they are taking strong measures. Last year, some police stations temporarily operated dedicated units for intoxication-related cases. A police official said, "Recently, as intoxicated violent crimes have increased, we are strictly responding with detention as the principle."

Experts pointed out that it is necessary to respond to the intoxicated individual problem in stages while also improving the police organizational culture. Professor Lee Geon-su said, "Since intoxication-related incidents occur repeatedly every year, citizens inevitably feel uneasy. Depending on the situation of the intoxicated person, simple drinking cases should be sent home, those causing disturbances or harm should be isolated, and habitual offenders with three or more incidents should receive correctional treatment. Measures appropriate to each stage are necessary."

Professor Lee Yun-ho of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration also said, "The social atmosphere toward intoxicated individuals is relatively lenient, and punishments are mild, but the police organizational culture itself makes it difficult to deal with intoxication crimes. The police organization should create an environment and support system so that individual officers do not worry about handling excessive responses or the aftermath."