Rape and Murder Committed by South Korean Youths Ballooning
South Korea's youths are becoming more violent and inclined to commit crimes. In a report prepared by the National Police Agency, the crimes involving youth in South Korea went up by almost 50 percent despite the ironic decline in the overall adolescent crime.
From 2008, the adolescents convicted of rape, robbery, murder, and arson are numbered to 3,428, an increase by 48 percent in 2010.
The report, which was submitted to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, also concluded that as of June this year, there are additional 1,535 youths convicted.
The Police National Agency explained that rape has the biggest increase with 2,029 convicted youths from 2008's 464. Murder increased by 21 percent with 23 new convicted, while arson decreased by 24 per cent and robbery declined by 25 per cent.
In a related report by Korea Herald, NPA recorded the sexual assault against youth has also increased with 33,078 sexual crimes against minors from 2006 to June 2011.
From 2006 to the present, the case of incest against minor and adult is slowly increasing. NPA told the media that at least one crime of incest is committed against the minors each day or 207 as of June 2011. Meanwhile, the cases of incest against adolescents numbered to 2,089 from 2006 to June 2011.
In a surprising contrast, adolescents suspected of committing crimes declined by 23 percent since 2008.
The latest figures cause a major concern among parents as they are either fearing for their child's safety or innocence. Either way, the statistics will surely call for more restrictive laws as South Korea aims to strengthen its security in domestic and international.