Five types of serious crimes _ murder, robbery, rape, theft and assault _ are on a steady rise in South Korea, while the ratio of arrests to those crimes is on a decline, the Korean National Police Agency said Monday.
The total number of those crimes committed nationwide rose from 455,840 in 2004 to 487,847 in 2005 and 489,575 in 2006, said the agency.
In contrast, the ratio of arrests related to the crimes has steadily fallen from 80.2 percent in 2003 to 72.6 percent in 2005 and 72.3 percent last year, it noted.
In robbery cases, the ratio dived from 70.3 percent in 2002 to 42.8 percent last year, it said.