One out of six sex offenders in the past three years were 50 years or older, a report showed.
According to the report compiled by the Ministry of Justice, 17.1 percent or 8,885 out of the total of 51,876 who had committed sex crimes from 2010 were in their 50s, 60s and 70s.
Rep. Lee Choon-suak of the Democratic United Party obtained the data from the ministry and made it public.
The percentage of elderly sex offenders has risen over the years with 16.9 in 2010, 17.4 percent in 2011 and 16.9 percent in the first half of 2012.
The largest number of offenders was the age group in their 30s, taking up 22.2 percent on average. It was followed by those in their 20s (21.3 percent), those in their 40s (20.6 percent) and those under 19 years of age (17.7 percent).
“As the population ages with the rise in life expectancy, sex crimes committed by the middle-aged and the elderly is becoming a social problem,” said Lee. “Effective measures to prevent and deal with the issue are necessary,” he said.