Foreign suspects in violent crimes up 12% in 5 years

Over the past five years, the count of foreign nationals suspected of engaging in violent crimes in South Korea has climbed by nearly 12 percent, climbing from 689 in 2021 to 771 in the recent year. As of the first nine months of this year, 645 foreign suspects had been arrested for violent offenses, according to Korea's National Police Agency.

Chinese nationals were the most frequent suspects of violent crimes, numbering 250 last year, followed by Uzbekistan nationals (62), U.S. nationals (60), and Vietnamese nationals (53). The total number of foreign nationals suspected of any crime also surged, up more than 7 percent from 32,470 in 2021 to 34,760 in the recent year.

Mongolian suspects saw the biggest jump, increasing by approximately 38 percent from 1,007 in 2021 to 1,397 in the latest year. Conversely, Thai suspects experienced a 20 percent decline, falling from 2,482 in 2021 to 1,979 last year. The police largely attribute the increase in foreign suspects of violent crimes to the growing population of foreign nationals residing in Korea, rather than an elevated rate of criminal activity. Indeed, the number of foreigners living in Korea has swelled by 42.2 percent over the same period.