Less than 2% of those questioned over dating violence arrested

Approximately 4,400 people were accused of dating abuse during the first four months of this year, but only 1.9 percent faced a formal arrest, a police report showed Monday.

According to the Korean National Police Agency data received by People Power Party Rep. Kim Mi-ae, out of 25,967 allegations of dating violence reported to police from January to April, 4,395 suspects were brought in for questioning. Of these suspects, 82 were arrested, representing a rate of 1.87 percent.

Among the suspected cases, 3,006 involved physical assault, 404 were related to imprisonment and threats, 146 to sexual violence, and the remaining 839 were categorized as minor offenses.

Over the past three years, South Korea has seen a rising number of dating abuse allegations. The police data shows that the number of people officially questioned in relation to dating violence increased from 10,538 in 2021 to 12,828 in 2022, and further to 13,939 in 2023.

Of the 56,079 dating violence suspects questioned from 2019 to 2023, 1,242 were arrested. That is 2.21 percent of the total, which is slightly higher than the current arrest rate.

Police officials attributed the low arrest rate to victims' reluctance to file charges.

Rep. Kim also called for law enforcement to implement appropriate preventive and emergency measures to curb dating abuse and prevent them from escalating into felonies.