Crimes that bespeak anger, isolation

With the nation’s top police office left vacant for nearly the past two years, a self-identified worrywart like me is left pondering whether an organization with structural layers of dedicated police officers can keep functioning.

Finally, though, President Lee Jae Myung has named his pick for the next commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA). He nominated incumbent Deputy Commissioner General Kim Jong-chul, in what can be seen as a safe promotion.

Vital to our security, police assume an ever-greater presence amid the Lee administration’s agenda of reforming the prosecution and law enforcement. Kim, who is to undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing, grasps that “public expectations for the police are higher than ever.”

Kim, at the same time, said that he would address the increase in “hate” or “rage” crimes committed against random strangers and crimes between acquaintances and family members. While these types of crimes have been on the rise over the years, last month saw an unusual increase.

In mid-October, a woman in her 50s in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, was killed by a man she reported to the police for stalking and dating violence. Later that month, a man in his 40s strangled his ex-girlfriend in Daejeon. Three more homicides followed, against either spouses or romantic partners. One hesitates to mention each of these in detail, given their violent nature. The frequency with which such crimes happened, over the span of one month, raises questions over the effectiveness of electronic ankle monitors and the lack of officers who can capably deal with these aggressive crimes.

So when Kim pointed to these crimes, it raised hope that increased investments in proper protective gear and more police officers specifically trained to tackle such crimes will follow. The police seem to be doing just that. On Monday, the police agency announced plans to establish a women’s and youth safety bureau. The police seem to be dealing with the issue belatedly.

Rage-driven crimes without a clear motivation also made headlines. A 59-year-old man went on a stabbing rampage at a large retail store in Incheon in October. He said he committed the attack because no one would listen to his complaints. The image of two knives strapped to his hands was grim. In the same month, a man in his 70s set fire to two buildings in Seoul’s Gangnam District out of a long-standing grievance over alleged intellectual property issues. The police investigation has so far yielded findings contrary to the man’s claims.

Violent crimes have always existed, committed randomly or even against acquaintances and family members. Social isolation, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, may have made it worse. But as Ma Kyung-hee, a columnist with this paper and a mental health expert, cautiously explained to me over email, one of the reasons behind such crimes may well be that we have not learned to express the feeling of anger in a healthy and constructive way.

She stressed that “anger itself is not right or wrong. It is a natural and value-neutral human feeling,” adding that feeling anger is “at times … a justified response when one receives inappropriate treatment or sees injustices committed.”

Koreans have been nurtured to endure anger or rage, with the act of endurance itself being considered a virtue.

“But someone bereft of an elder or a friend who can offer support through hard times, especially in an environment barely held up by tenuous links to a community or the local community, can, I think, erupt,” Ma said.

Such frustrated desperation and anger, without anyone to listen or other outlets for resolution, do not necessarily lead to violence, but can have an effect, she believes.

“What we can do is review how our society has understood and dealt with anger, and what social support systems are provided when individuals go through difficult times,” Ma said.

The author is a member of The Korea Times editorial board.