Skip to main content

Accidental crimes on the rise in South Korea?

Updated: Korea Herald, April 24, 2013 

The key numbers here (from yesterday's Korea Herald) in an article about rape in Korea.

* In 2011: 22,034 rapes were reported, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Korea.
* Of those, 18,591 cases resulted in arrests with a total of 18,880 offenders being convicted.
*Only 12 percent of those found guilty, or 2,289, were sentenced to jail time.

* Based on a 2010 survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, it is believed that the sexual crime reporting rate in Korea is about 10 percent.
The article provides some information about what to do after getting raped, phone numbers to call. I don't mean to dismiss those things, but obviously the reporter ran out of space addressing: "How to protect yourself" or "How to reduce the chance you'll be raped."

Sun-Flower Women and Children’s Centerl. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald)
This site (in an article written by James Fenske) advises:

* Be armed
* Be alert when out as well as when home

* Be careful about drinking too much
* Take physical defense classes

I know the Mayor of Seoul has dubbed himself the "Welfare Mayor," is focused on tourism and shutting down profitable businesses, but one practical thing he could do is to distribute pepper spray and other self-defense items to women in the city.
  
* * *

from August 27, 2010

The Korea Times has a breakdown on the increase in violent crimes in South Korea.

A few things caught my attention:


The NPA’s white paper also reported that police apprehended 2.33 million criminals across the nation in 2009. (bold added by me)
I'm no bleeding heart liberal when it comes to criminals, but being arrested doesn't make you a criminal. Giving the reporter or translator the benefit of the doubt, I will guess it means that these people have already been prosecuted, so it is safe to call them criminals?
Of the 2.33 million [people arrested in Korea last year], 448,420 committed crimes “by accident,” accounting for 19.2 percent of the total.
So that means that the other 80.8% committed the crimes "on purpose"?

The reporter doesn't mention whether or not crimes committed on accident are also on the rise.


The reporter then adds an editorial comment, in bold here:

The recidivism rates for robbery, arson, violence, theft and rape stood at 64.7 percent, 65.7 percent, 54 percent, 50 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively, indicating a more effective rehabilitation program should be introduced for violent criminals while they are in jail to stop them from repeating offenses.
Why is that the conclusion? Perhaps it is "indicating" that the death penalty needs to be used more often or that criminals need to spend more time in jail before being returned to society. 
A couple of random statistics I'll bookmark here for future reference. 
* However, five types of violent crime — murder, robbery, rape, theft and violence — jumped 8.4 percent to 590,087 last year from 544,527 in 2008. 
* The number of murders soared 24 percent to 1,374 nationwide over the one-year period, while robberies surged 32 percent to 6,351. 
* The number of burglaries reached 256,423, up 15 percent from 2008, with rape and other sex crimes rising 6.4 percent to 18,351. 
* Murders occurred most frequently from July through September when the weather was hot and humid. Robberies took place most often in May. 
The article also mentions various measures police have taken to stop crime. 
I'm sure there was a previous article hailing those measures.


CJL











Popular posts from this blog

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...

2015-01-09 Asia Liberty Forum (Kathmandu, Nepal)

I was pleased to be one of the speakers at the 3rd Asia Liberty Forum, held this time in Kathmandu, Nepal. Freedom Speakers International has presented at the Asia Liberty Forum several times. I was invited in 2014 and have been able to invite North Korean refugees to also speak at the forum. 2014, New Delhi, India Speakers: Chanyang Ju, Casey Lartigue Jr. https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2014/01/07-09-ALF-India.html http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2014/01/137_149698.html https://www.facebook.com/CaseyLartigue/posts/1308010646009594 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal Speaker: Casey Lartigue https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-01-09-asia-liberty-forum-kathmandu.html 2018 Jakarta, Indonesia Speakers: Eunhee Park, Casey Lartigue FSI was named a finalist for the Asia Liberty Award https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2021/01/11-Asia-liberty-award.html https://www.atlasnetwork.org/news/article/organizations-from-afghanistan-nepal-south-korea-named-finalists-for-asia-l 2019, Colomb...

Michael Jackson & Prince

Michael Jackson, born August 29, 1958 Prince (Rogers Nelson), born June 7, 1958 Note: Originally posted 1/31/05; reposted in honor of Prince performing at the Super Bowl this weekend... Once upon a time, I wanted to be Mike. Michael Jackson was the lovable lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s and 1970s. His family had been poor, so it is no surprise that they were releasing at least one album a year. Michael was the family's lottery ticket. I was a big-time fan. I was a member of the Jackson 5 fan club. My brothers and I tried to be just like Mike. I'm the tallest of the three. Check me out, I was so C-O-O-L ! Look at that 'Fro. Could there have been a cooler Bible-carrying kid? I could have hid entire African villages under that cap. And the African villages that could not have fit in that Afro could have squeezed into my bell bottoms. You'd have to pay me money to wear those beads today, but I was stylin' then. But it was clear that I was destined to beco...

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei...

How not to get your ass beat by the police

The black president of the United States stupidly commented on the arrest of a black Harvard professor in his own home by a white police officer. Some random thoughts and memories: * I'm sure most people are still trying to figure out who Prof. Gates is. As G.K. Chesterton once wrote: "Journalism consists largely in saying 'Lord Jones is dead' to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive." * Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Gates' arrest was "every black man's nightmare." Perhaps. But having a criminal in my house is even more of a nightmare. Also, having the president of the United States talk off the cuff about me about something he doesn't know is pretty bad. And getting shot by a cop after I escalated a situation would also be worse than getting arrested. Anyway, I have had my own dealings with the police over the years: * Back when I was a college student many many moons ago, one of my brothers and I got stopped by police in Bro...