Reports of domestic violence in South Korea have climbed sharply each year, yet the number of cases in which police make arrests has fallen, data showed. About half of the cases in which arrests were made were referred for family protection proceedings rather than criminal prosecution. Calls for tougher punishment and more effective measures to prevent repeat offenses are growing after another severe case — in which a man killed his mother-in-law and abducted his wife after a restraining order expired.
Seoul's Songpa Police Station on the 12th sought an arrest warrant for a man in his 20s, identified only as A, who is accused of killing the mother of his wife and abducting his wife while the couple was in litigation to annul their marriage, according to reporting by The Seoul Economic Daily on the 13th. Police have applied charges including murder of a lineal ascendant and aggravated unlawful confinement, and are examining his motive and whether the crime was planned, based on his statements and evidence collected at the scene. A has largely admitted to the allegations, sources said.
Reports of domestic violence have risen steadily while arrests have declined. According to the Korean National Police Agency, reports rose from 218,680 in 2021 to 225,609 in 2022, 230,830 in 2023 and 236,647 in 2024. Last year the figure reached 289,368, up 32.3% from 2021.
Arrests moved in the opposite direction. From 46,041 in 2021, the number stayed in the 40,000 range through 2023 before falling to 37,905 in 2024. Last year it came to 33,767, down 26.7% from 2021. That amounted to 11.67% of the reports filed in the same year.
The gap remains clear over the past five years. Between 2021 and 2025, police received a total of 1,201,134 reports of domestic violence while making 207,053 arrests, or 17.24% of the reports.
Critics also point to the large share of cases handled as family protection matters rather than through criminal prosecution. Over the past five years, 108,054 cases were referred for family protection proceedings, equal to 52.18% of domestic violence arrests in the same period. Under the process, instead of sending an abuser to a criminal trial, a court can impose protective measures such as a restraining order, probation, or mandatory counseling or treatment. The system is intended to prevent further violence and help families recover, but questions persist over whether it adequately controls the risk that offenders will reoffend.
The latest case also exposed gaps in protection for victims. Police had earlier imposed temporary measures on A, including an order to leave the victim's residence, a ban on coming within 100 meters, and a ban on contact by telecommunications. Those measures expired on the 30th of last month. Suwon Gwonseon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province applied again for a restraining order on the 6th of this month out of concern over further harm, but the crime occurred before the court ruled.
Police also failed to take A into custody despite repeated unsuccessful attempts to execute a search warrant. After obtaining the warrant on the 18th of last month, officers tried to execute it at his workplace on the 22nd and 28th of that month and at his home on the 6th of this month, but he was absent each time. With his whereabouts unknown and the restraining order expired, measures meant to prevent further crimes did not function, critics said.
Experts say enforcement of temporary measures must be strengthened and police given far broader authority to detain suspects preemptively. Another obstacle, they say, is a provision under current law barring prosecution if the victim withdraws the wish for punishment. Police officials said the low rate of arrests relative to reports stems largely from the many cases in which victims cancel their complaints out of fear of retaliation. "In most cases, even when we respond to a domestic violence call, the victim asks us to just leave," one police official said, voicing frustration.