[2021 National Audit] 75,000 Cases of 'Malicious Comments' Crimes in the Last 5 Years... 3 out of 10 Cases Remain Unsolved

Assemblyman Han Byung-do: "Deadly crimes with high transmissibility and impact require strengthened investigative capabilities"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Cyber defamation and insult crimes, represented by 'malicious comments,' are increasing every year, but it has been revealed that perpetrators are not caught in 3 out of 10 cases.

According to the National Assembly audit data submitted by the National Police Agency to Han Byung-do, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of cyber defamation and insult crimes over the past five years increased annually from 13,348 cases in 2017 to 15,926 in 2018, 16,633 in 2019, and 19,388 last year. By June of this year, 10,007 cases were recorded, totaling 75,302 cases.

Accordingly, the number of arrests has also increased annually. From 13,133 people in 2017 to 15,479 in 2018, 16,029 in 2019, and 17,954 last year, 4,821 more people were arrested over three years. Especially, 9,637 people were arrested in the first half of this year alone, expected to surpass the number of arrests in previous years. However, looking only at the arrest rate, it dropped from 73.1% in 2017 to 65.2% in 2020. The average arrest rate over the past five years was about 69.3%.

Rep. Han said, "Defamation or spreading false information online under the cover of anonymity is a fatal crime due to its rapid transmission and wide impact," adding, "As cybercrime is increasing, the police must strengthen investigative capabilities to improve the arrest rate and respond promptly."

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