Number of Crimes by Commercial District in Seoul: Alley Markets Safer Compared to Developed and Traditional Markets

Analysis of Crime Types Occurring in Seoul's Alley Commercial Areas, Developed Commercial Areas, Traditional Commercial Areas, and Tourist Commercial Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Crime rates per unit area in alley commercial districts in Seoul were found to be safer compared to other commercial districts.

On the 3rd, the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation presented policy implications for creating safe commercial districts in Seoul by utilizing location-based crime occurrence data for the first time nationwide through the study titled "Directions for Creating Safe Commercial Districts through Establishing Seoul Commercial District Safety Index." This study was conducted to propose policy directions for strengthening community safety and creating commercial districts in Seoul where citizens can use facilities with peace of mind. The foundation established a safety index for each commercial district using location-based crime occurrence data for the first time nationwide and sought safety measures at the commercial district level.

Alley commercial districts were analyzed as relatively safe commercial districts. Analyzing the average crime in commercial districts over five years from 2016 to 2020, the number of crimes per unit area was highest in developed commercial districts, while alley commercial districts had the lowest, about one-third of that in developed commercial districts. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on gatherings, the overall number of crimes in commercial districts showed a decreasing trend, with crime in tourist commercial districts decreasing by nearly half.

Additionally, factors influencing crime occurrence were identified to establish a commercial district safety index, which was applied to Seoul’s commercial districts to analyze crime safety by district. Areas with a high commercial district safety index indicate fewer factors causing crime and relatively more factors reducing crime, meaning they are safer areas. The analysis showed that alley commercial districts had a significantly higher safety index, followed by traditional markets, developed commercial districts, and tourist commercial districts in order of fewer crime-causing factors.

Based on these research results, the foundation proposed the following policy directions for creating safe commercial districts in Seoul: △ revitalizing resident communities within living commercial districts △ preparing plans to utilize vacant stores △ strengthening the role of convenience stores as safety hubs △ establishing autonomous regulations centered on merchant organizations in developed and tourist commercial districts.

Joo Cheol-soo, Chairman of the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, said, “We hope this study will help improve the safety of daily life for Seoul’s self-employed and citizens,” and added, “We will continue to make multifaceted efforts to develop institutional support measures so that Seoul’s self-employed can conduct their business activities more safely.”

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