Crime rate highest among 'baby boomers': report

Korea's crime rate is the highest among people in their 40s, mainly because the so-called baby boomers are under more stress, a report showed Thursday.

About 20,000 violent and property-related crimes were committed by people aged between 41 and 50 in 2007, followed by 18,000 by those aged 35 to 40, according to the report released by the Korean Institute of Criminology.

The report, drawn up by assistant professor Cheong Eun-kyong of Youngsan University, attributed the high crime rate among the middle-aged to intense competition and stress derived from a prolonged economic slump.

Baby boomers refer to those born between 1955 and 1963, in the post 1950-53 Korean War period. There are an estimated 7.13 million in that age range, accounting for about 15 percent of the population.

The report, citing data by Statistics Korea, said the crime rate among people in their 30s was at its highest in 1991, as the baby boomers were in the early 30s age group. In 2005, the crime rate among people in the 40s was the highest as baby boomers moved into that range.

Baby boomers had to compete more fiercely for jobs from when they were adolescents as society could not accommodate their huge numbers, the report said.

Due to such fierce competition, especially after the 1997 Asia-wide financial crisis when the country received bailout funds, baby boomers came under extreme stress, leading to more crimes, the report analyzed.

"Despite the fact that a majority of baby boomers are set to reach retirement soon, many of them are inadequately prepared for post-retirement life," it said. "Measures are needed to prepare for crimes by the elderly."

Meanwhile, the number of crimes committed by teenagers came to between 6,000 and 15,000 in 2007, the report said. More than 100,000 crimes were committed by teenagers in the United States during the same period, the highest among all age groups. (Yonhap)