A file photo, provided by Yonhap News TV, depicting dating violence. (Image courtesy of Yonhap News)
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of people apprehended for dating violence has risen steadily over the past three years, but the rate of their formal arrests has dwindled, police data showed Friday.
The number of people apprehended over dating violence charges rose from 9,823 in 2019 to 12,828 last year, an uptick of 30.6 percent, according to the National Police Agency (NPA) report submitted to Rep. Chung Woo-taik of the People Power Party.
Of those caught in 2019, 4.8 percent were formally arrested, but only 1.7 percent faced formal arrests last year, according to the report.
Most victims don’t want their lovers punished, a police official said, adding that assault or blackmail, which form the majority of dating violence crimes, are not punishable upon the victim’s objection.
Currently, police classify dating violence separately from other reports, and suspects are indicted based on the type of crimes they commit, due to the lack of a law specifying the punishment for dating violence.
Among the total number of suspects detained last year, 9,068 people, or 70.7 percent, were accused of assault or causing bodily harm, followed by confinement or blackmail at 9 percent, trespassing on one’s property at 6 percent and sexual abuse at 2.1 percent.
The reports of dating violence cases also increased sharply, from 57,305 in 2021 to 70,790 cases last year, but nearly half of them were concluded on the scene without criminal suspicions, the report showed.
(Yonhap)
