Overseas Korean Citizens' Incident and Accident Victims Double in 5 Years
Democratic Party Rep. Sang-min Lee Points Out Need to Improve Overseas Korean Protection Services in Era of 30 Million Overseas Travelers
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The number of incidents and accidents involving overseas Koreans has nearly doubled over the past five years.
According to the analysis of the status of incidents and accidents involving overseas Koreans by Lee Sang-min, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of victims increased from 8,298 in 2015 to 16,335 in 2019.
By type of crime, the number of victims of rape and sexual assault increased the most, from 54 cases in 2015 to 117 cases in 2019, followed by theft (107%), assault and injury (103%), and fraud (88%). Victims of violent crimes such as murder, robbery, and abduction decreased. Missing persons, safety accidents, and traffic accidents also increased by 129%, 127%, and 88%, respectively.
While incidents and accidents involving overseas Koreans are increasing, awareness of services such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overseas Safety Travel website remains low. Citing a survey on awareness and satisfaction with overseas Korean protection systems, Representative Lee stated that awareness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overseas Safety Travel website and mobile application (Donghaeng) services were only 56% and 49%, respectively, and that only 7% of respondents collected overseas travel-related information through the Overseas Safety Travel website.
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Representative Lee said, "With 7.5 million overseas Koreans and 30 million overseas travelers, there is a need for protection services suitable for this era," adding, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should enhance awareness of overseas Korean protection services and provide country-specific customized safety and crime information to prevent incidents and accidents involving overseas Koreans."
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