A foreign man who raped a woman while drinking with her at her home fled to another region but was caught by police. A foreign man and woman who aided the crime were also arrested.
The Ilsan West Police Station said on the 13th that a man in his 20s identified as A, a national of Uzbekistan, had been arrested on rape charges. A is accused of dragging a Philippine woman in her 20s, identified as B, into a room and raping her at around 10:40 p.m. on the 4th while the two were drinking at her villa — a low-rise multi-unit home, distinct from a luxury villa — in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
A Philippine man and woman in their 20s who were at the scene at the time are accused of aiding the crime by closing the door to the room while A committed the assault.
Police first made an emergency arrest of the Philippine man and woman, who returned to the scene of the crime the following day. Investigators then tracked A, who had fled to Cheongju, through an analysis of security camera footage and apprehended him in Daejeon.
Violent Crime by Uzbek Nationals Jumps 77% in Five Years
Violent crimes committed by foreign nationals in South Korea, such as this case, have been rising quickly over the past five years. The number of foreign suspects apprehended for violent crimes including murder and robbery rose about 12% to 771 from 689 between 2021 and 2025, according to the Korean National Police Agency.
Violent crimes by nationals of Uzbekistan surged 77% over the same period, to 62 from 35. The total number of foreign crime suspects also rose more than 6% over three years, to 35,296 in 2024 and 34,760 in 2025 from 32,737 in 2023.
The period in which foreign crime increased coincides with the downsizing of the police agency's foreign affairs bureau, which had handled investigations into crimes involving foreign nationals. The bureau's functions — covering everything from intelligence gathering on foreign crime to prevention, investigation and international cooperation — were dispersed starting in 2023.
The police agency this year added 42 investigators to its international crime units, bringing the total to 191, and is operating separate international crime investigation divisions at 17 metropolitan and provincial police agencies. Police are now focusing their investigation on A's exact motive and whether he committed other offenses.