Foreign suspects in violent crimes up 12% in 5 years
Foriegn nationals brawl late night at a park in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 3. Yonhap
The number of foreign nationals suspected of committing violent crimes in Korea has risen by nearly 12 percent over the past five years, increasing from 689 in 2021 to 771 last year.
A total of 645 foreign suspects had been apprehended for violent crimes between January and September this year, according to the Korean National Police Agency.
By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest number of violent crime suspects last year, at 250, followed by Uzbekistan nationals at 62, U.S. nationals at 60 and Vietnamese at 53.
The number of foreign nationals suspected of crimes overall increased as well. The figure rose more than 7 percent, from 32,470 in 2021 to 34,760 last year. By nationality, Mongolian suspects recorded the largest increase, rising around 38 percent from 1,007 to 1,397. Meanwhile, the number of Thai suspects fell over 20 percent, from 2,482 to 1,979.
Police mainly attribute the rise to the growing number of foreign nationals living in Korea, not necessarily to a higher rate of offending. The number of foreign nationals residing in Korea increased 42.2 percent, from 1,956,781 in 2021 to 2,783,247 last year, according to immigration statistics from the Ministry of Justice.
Such data comes in the wake of a recent brawl in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
On Oct. 3, police responded to a late-night report about a clash involving a dozen foreign nationals armed with wooden planks and bats. Authorities issued a Code Zero, the highest dispatch level, and apprehended two men in their 20s at the scene, identified as Russian and Kyrgyz nationals. The two suffered injuries including fractures.
Police believe around 15 people were involved in the brawl, and were tracking down seven individuals whose identities have been confirmed, along with vehicles linked to the incident.