Last Year, 13,094 Cases of Robbery and Theft... Increasing Trend Again After 4 Years

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[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The number of robbery and theft cases brought to trial last year increased again after four years. In particular, fraud and extortion cases saw the largest increase in six years.

According to the '2020 Judicial Yearbook' published by the court on the 7th, among first-instance criminal trials last year, robbery and theft cases numbered 13,094, an increase of 312 cases (2.4%) from the previous year (12,782 cases). Robbery and theft cases had been decreasing for three consecutive years since recording 14,880 cases in 2015, but turned to an upward trend again last year.

The increase in fraud and extortion cases is also notable. Last year, there were 43,931 cases, up 3,596 cases (8.9%) from the previous year (40,335 cases). This is the largest increase since 2013, when cases rose by 4,078 (11.9%) compared to the previous year. The prolonged economic downturn and widening wealth gap are cited as reasons for the rise in robbery, theft, fraud, and extortion cases.

Rape and sexual assault cases last year decreased by 146 cases (2.3%) from the previous year (6,488 cases) to 6,342 cases. These cases had increased for three years since 2016 but shifted to a downward trend last year.

Additionally, assault and battery cases also continued a three-year decline, recording 23,281 cases, down 813 cases (3.4%) from the previous year (24,094 cases).

Meanwhile, by crime type, fraud and extortion cases were the most numerous, followed by violations of the Road Traffic Act (30,651 cases), and assault and battery cases. Violations of the National Security Act amounted to only 39 cases last year. Since falling below 100 cases in 2014, National Security Act violation cases have fluctuated slightly but have remained in double digits.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.