S Korea-public safety

S Korea-public safety

Crime rate in S. Korea lowest in 10 years in 2021

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's crime rate fell to the lowest level in a decade in 2021, data showed Friday, although offenses in the cyber domain shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asia's No. 4 economy reported 1,774 cases of criminal violations per 100,000 people in 2021, down 12 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The number of murders reached 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, down 18 percent on-year. Those for violence and theft fell 16 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, to 231 and 322 per 100,000, the data also showed.

In contrast, the figure for rapes came to 63.6 in 2021, up 9.4 percent over the period.

The total number of crimes in the cyber domain came to 217,807 in 2021, down 6.9 percent on-year. The figure, however, marked a 20 percent rise from 2019, just before the pandemic began.

Per 100,000 children, 502.2 experienced abuse, marking a sharp rise from just 401.6 tallied in 2020. The figure is based on the number of reports filed to authorities, reflecting the rising awareness of such violence in society.

The number of suicides in South Korea came to 26 per 100,000 people, maintaining a consecutive on-year growth since 2017. Those for males came to 35.9, more than double of 16.2 tallied for females.


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