The number of foreign nationals booked as suspects in violent crimes in South Korea rose nearly 12% over the past five years, police data showed. Concern over crimes involving foreigners has grown after about a dozen foreign nationals brawled with blunt weapons in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
Violent Crime Suspects Climb, With Central Asian Nationals Standing Out
According to the Korean National Police Agency on the 11th, the number of foreign suspects in violent crimes rose 11.9% to 771 last year from 689 in 2021. A total of 645 were apprehended through September this year.
By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest group of violent crime suspects last year at 250. They were followed by Uzbekistan with 62, the United States with 60, Vietnam with 53, Mongolia with 37, Russia with 32 and Thailand with 18.
Uzbek nationals posted the steepest increase over the five years, rising 77% to 62 from 35. Mongolian nationals rose 19.4% to 37 from 31, and Russian nationals increased 14.3% to 32 from 28. Chinese nationals also rose 7.3% to 250 from 233.
The total number of foreign suspects across all crimes also grew. The figure rose 7.1% to 34,760 last year from 32,470 in 2021. Through September this year, 28,571 were apprehended.
By nationality, Mongolian suspects showed the largest increase, rising 38.7% to 1,397 from 1,007. Russian suspects rose 24% to 1,431 from 1,154, Vietnamese suspects rose 21.9% to 3,839 from 3,150, and Uzbek suspects rose 21.5% to 2,147 from 1,767. Thai nationals, by contrast, fell 20.3% to 1,979 from 2,482.
Foreign Residents Up 42%, Policing Stepped Up After Pyeongtaek Brawl
Police link the rise in crimes involving foreigners to the growing number of foreign residents in the country rather than to expanded activity by international criminal organizations. Immigration data from the Ministry of Justice showed the number of foreign residents in South Korea rose 42.2% to 2,783,247 last year from 1,956,781 in 2021.
Unease among local residents has grown after the group brawl in Poseung-eup, Pyeongtaek. At about 11:40 p.m. on the 3rd, about a dozen foreign nationals clashed at a park in Poseung-eup, swinging wooden clubs and bats, prompting police to respond. The situation was urgent enough that police issued a "Code 0," their highest level of emergency response.
Police detained two men in their 20s at the scene, a Russian national identified as A and a Kyrgyz national identified as B. Blunt weapons left in a vehicle by foreign nationals who had fled the scene were also found. The two detained men were treated for injuries including fractures.
Police believe about 15 people took part in the fight and are tracking seven whose identities have been confirmed, along with vehicles linked to the case. Because the suspects have scattered and are evading pursuit using vehicles registered under other people's names and overseas messaging apps, police plan to deploy a team from the international crime investigation unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's metropolitan investigation bureau to apprehend the remaining suspects and determine the circumstances of the incident and whether it stemmed from a conflict between groups.