Foreign suspects in violent crimes up 12% in 5 years

Over the past five years, the number of foreign nationals suspected of committing violent crimes in Korea has surged by nearly 12 percent, climbing from 689 in 2021 to 771 by the end of last year. The Korean National Police Agency reported that 645 foreign suspects were apprehended for violent crimes between January and September of this year.

Chinese nationals constituted the majority of violent crime suspects last year, with 250 individuals, followed by Uzbekistan nationals with 62, U.S. nationals with 60, and Vietnamese nationals with 53.

The overall number of foreign nationals suspected of crimes also increased by over 7 percent, from 32,470 in 2021 to 34,760 last year. Mongolian suspects experienced the most significant rise, with a 38 percent increase, rising from 1,007 to 1,397. Conversely, the number of Thai suspects dropped by more than 20 percent, falling from 2,482 to 1,979.

Police officials primarily attribute the increase in suspected violent crime suspects to the growing number of foreign nationals residing in Korea, rather than a higher rate of offending. The population of foreign nationals in Korea expanded by 42.2 percent over the same period.