"A Stranger in CCTV Footage"... Ongoing Residential Intrusion Crimes Cause 'Anxious Women'

Crimes Targeting 'Women Living Alone' Continue
Residential Intrusion Crimes Increasing Annually: 7,721 Cases in 2015 → 12,287 Cases in 2019
Citizens Demand "Strict Punishment"

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Crimes involving residential intrusion targeting single women households are increasing, becoming a social issue. Perpetrators are employing various methods such as climbing gas pipes installed on villa exterior walls or scaling balcony railings to enter the homes of women they do not know. In response, women living alone are expressing anxiety and demanding strict punishment for such crimes.

Recently, a man secretly entering and wandering around a single woman’s home as if it were his own was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV), causing a stir.

According to SBS on the 25th, Ms. A, who lived on the 6th floor of an officetel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, sensed something unusual shortly after moving in earlier this year. Whenever Ms. A went out and returned, the master bedroom window was open or the tissue placed in the drain was missing, indicating changes throughout the house.

Feeling uneasy, Ms. A installed CCTV in her home. Five days later, the CCTV captured a man casually roaming inside the house. This man was a neighbor living on the 6th floor of the adjacent building, and he stayed in Ms. A’s home for about five minutes before leaving through the front door. Investigations revealed that he climbed the balcony railing at the 6th-floor height to cross over to the neighboring building.

The man reportedly told the police that he entered out of curiosity while intoxicated and admitted to having intruded once before. However, he denied any intent related to illegal filming or violent crimes.

A man has caused a stir by unlawfully entering the home of a woman living alone. The man, who resides on the same floor in the adjacent building, was found to have accessed the woman's home through the balcony railing. Photo by SBS 'News 8'.

Such residential intrusion crimes continue to rise. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Kim Young-bae, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, there were 7,721 cases of residential intrusion in 2015 and 12,287 cases in 2019, an increase of 59.1% over five years.

In particular, the methods of crime are becoming bolder. In October last year, a man in his 20s caused controversy by opening the window of a woman he did not know and inserting his arm inside. Although the woman was inside the house at the time, the man opened the window and touched the curtains. He was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation.

As various crimes targeting women living alone continue, women’s anxiety is also increasing. According to the '2020 Statistics on Women’s Lives' (Statistics Korea and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family), the percentage of women who feel fear of crime was 57% in 2018, still higher than men at 44.5%.

Ms. Kim (28), who lives alone in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, said, "Crimes targeting women living alone happen frequently these days, so I feel scared. When I am home alone, I sometimes become sensitive to even small noises, and I feel uneasy even when sharing an elevator with neighbors."

Ms. Lee (26), a university student, said, "I just don’t understand why someone would try to break into a woman’s home who lives alone. Isn’t it ultimately to commit sexual crimes like rape? The victims must suffer huge psychological trauma. Even if they move, they will continue to live in fear. I hope strict punishment is imposed for the victims’ sake."

Some voices criticize the lenient punishments handed down by the courts. Residential intrusion is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won. The crime is established even if only a part of the body, such as a hand or face, is inserted into a room occupied by others, and attempted intrusion is also punishable.

However, if it is judged that there is no proven intent to commit a crime, offenders often receive light sentences such as fines, probation, or imprisonment of less than two years and are released.

In this regard, a man in his 20s who was prosecuted for secretly entering and leaving a woman’s home 12 times over a year was sentenced to one year and six months in prison with two years of probation. Notably, he climbed the villa’s exterior gas pipes to reach the second floor where the woman lived, opened the window, and entered the home to commit the crime.

In response, local governments including Seoul City are implementing various measures to alleviate women’s anxiety. In particular, Seoul City plans to expand the 'Single Woman Household Safety Support Project' from 11 autonomous districts last year to all 25 districts this year to reduce anxiety and prevent crimes targeting women living alone.

Kim Ki-hyun, Seoul City’s Women’s Policy Officer, said, "We plan to strengthen projects that can alleviate the anxiety of single-person households in response to the increasing demand for safety policies for single-person households. We will prepare various safety policies to expand the creation of safe living environments."

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