49 Cases of COVID-19 'Hate Crimes'... Only 65 Overseas Police Attach?s Assigned

Post-'With Corona' Outbound Travel Expected to Increase
Police Dispatched to Only 55 Diplomatic Missions
Rep. Im Hoseon: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Police Agency Must Establish Systematic Support System"

Im Ho-seon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Amid a series of anti-Asian hate crimes and racial discrimination incidents overseas following COVID-19, there have been calls to strengthen a systematic support system among related government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Agency to protect overseas Koreans.

According to data received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Lim Ho-seon, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 38,383 incidents involving overseas Koreans occurred between 2018 and 2020.

By region, the Asia-Pacific area including China, Japan, and the Philippines accounted for the largest number with 17,444 cases (45.1%), followed by Europe with 15,180 cases (39.2%). By country, China had 3,339 cases (8.6%), the United States 3,088 cases (7.8%), Japan 3,017 cases (7.8%), and the Philippines 2,594 cases (6.7%). The types of crime victims experienced were mainly theft with 15,599 cases (40.3%) and loss with 9,745 cases (25.2%).

In particular, since COVID-19, a total of 49 hate crimes have been reported through overseas diplomatic missions. By country, the United States had 13 cases, Germany 11 cases, and Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and Canada each had 3 cases. Additionally, 8 other countries including South Africa, Jordan, and Uganda also reported cases. In April of this year, a shooting targeting Asians occurred in Atlanta, USA, resulting in the deaths of four Korean women, and in June, a Korean man was assaulted by four German men in Berlin, Germany.

However, there are only 65 police attach?s dispatched to cooperate and coordinate with host country police agencies for international criminal investigations and to prevent crimes against overseas Koreans. The number of diplomatic missions with police attach?s dispatched is only 55 (29.5%), which Lim pointed out is insufficient to effectively respond to incidents involving overseas Koreans. Especially, if the scale of departures expands after the 'With Corona' policy, incidents involving tourists and overseas Koreans are expected to increase further.

Lim said, "There is a shortage of personnel to promptly respond to anti-Asian racial hate crimes occurring recently in the United States, Australia, and Europe," adding, "Our government must act more proactively to protect the 7.5 million overseas Koreans." He continued, "International crimes requiring cooperation such as voice phishing and drug crimes are increasing day by day," and emphasized, "A systematic support system among related agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police Agency must be established for international crime investigations and the protection of overseas Koreans."

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