"Household Finances Tighten" Livelihood Crimes Increase Amid Economic Downturn

Increase in Property Crimes Under 100,000 Won After COVID-19
Rise in Crimes Among Elderly Aged 61 and Over with Poor Working Conditions

On July 4th, when the heatwave continued, elderly people lined up in front of the free meal service for seniors at Wongaksa in Tapgol Park, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to have lunch. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jeong-wan] Amid ongoing economic recession and rising prices, livelihood-related crimes continue to occur. Although overall theft crimes have decreased, small-scale cases involving property damage under 100,000 won have increased, highlighting the need for both punishment and reinforcement of social safety nets.

According to the National Police Agency's '2021 Crime Statistics' released on the 14th, last year, property crimes nationwide totaled 574,472 cases, down 12.3% from the previous year (654,909 cases). However, the proportion of fraud and theft, including livelihood-related crimes, remained high. Fraud and theft accounted for 80.1% of property crimes last year, recording 294,075 and 166,409 cases respectively.

In particular, only small-scale property crimes involving amounts under 100,000 won have increased since COVID-19, indicating a growing share of livelihood-related crimes. Over the past five years, the proportion of property crimes with damages under 100,000 won was at its lowest at 16.9% in 2019, then rose to 17.6% the following year, and 18.7% last year. Theft crimes involving amounts under 10,000 won also increased by 11.6% from 12,993 cases in 2020 to 14,501 cases.

Notably, property crimes among the elderly aged 61 and over are on the rise. Suspects aged 61 and above involved in theft crimes surged by 50.8% from 16,450 in 2017 to 24,816 last year. The proportion of theft offenders aged 61 and over accounted for 29.1%, roughly 3 out of every 10 theft crimes.

There are also cases where individuals continue committing crimes despite being caught due to financial hardship. In August, Park (64), who stole food, beverages, and cash about 45 times from unmanned stores in Dobong-gu, Seoul, from September last year to July this year, was sentenced to 10 months in prison. The total amount stolen by Park was approximately 350,000 won, and investigations revealed that he continued stealing even after being caught and under investigation. During the trial, he pleaded, "I committed the crimes due to livelihood difficulties."

Given the possibility of repeated theft crimes due to economic hardship, experts point out the need for both punishment and strengthening social safety nets. This is because elderly individuals struggling with livelihood are more likely to commit livelihood-related crimes, even targeting relatively inexpensive items, as they cannot withstand economic crises. In the past two years, courts have considered old age when sentencing theft cases, often imposing fines or suspended prison sentences. Stolen items included bags of kodari (dried pollack) and groceries worth about 160,000 won.

It has also been analyzed that working conditions for "working elderly" are poor, as about half of wage workers aged 65 and over earn less than 1 million won per month on average. According to microdata from the Statistics Korea Household Income and Expenditure Survey, as of the second quarter of this year, 44.6% of households headed by wage workers aged 65 and over had a monthly average wage income below 1 million won. According to data from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, South Korea's economic activity participation rate for those aged 65 and over was 35.3% in 2020, ranking first among OECD member countries and more than double the average of 15.5%.

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