Crime in South Korea - statistics and facts

South Korea scored in the upper echelon of the Asia Pacific region in terms of order and security. Additionally, many visitors to the country remark on the clean and relatively safe streets, perhaps reassured by the fact that guns are heavily restricted in South Korea. Indeed, arrests were on the lower side during the past decade, and the government was increasing spending on crime relief funds. However, the public still felt that crime was a serious issue in South Korea.

Mysterious perpetrators

The majority of crimes in South Korea had no clear motive or were otherwise caused by accident or a lack of caution. Nevertheless, theft was also a prominent motivation of crime in the country, with many victims reporting that they were deceived at the time of the crime. Moreover, those that suffered crime reported that they had unknown or no prior connections to criminal suspects. From a statistical perspective, crimes in South Korea were committed under false pretenses to strangers with unknown motives, with male citizens on the receiving end more often than not.

General worries

According to a survey carried out in South Korea, male respondents voiced their concerns about having personal information leaked. This also held true for female respondents, with the overall magnitude of worry following a similar trend for different types of crime. One major difference was the higher worry of sexual assault portrayed by the female population. Another survey conducted in South Korea displayed a call for stricter measures in response to sexual crimes. Juvenile crime was also a topic of discussion, with the general opinion being that the current punishments were not enough of a deterrent.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by L. Yoon, Jan 19, 2024

Key insights

Total arrests
1.13m
National Police Agency budget
947bn KRW
Victim relief funds
9.5bn KRW
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Number of crime victims in South Korea in 2022, by gender and age group (in 1,000s)

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