Crimes by foreigners rise

In parallel with the rise in the number of foreign residents in the country, the number of crimes committed by foreigners is increasing, exceeding 20,000 for the first time last year, according to statistics from the National Police Agency.

A total of 20,623 foreign nationals were arrested in 2008 on criminal charges such as murder, robbery and drug trafficking.

The number of crimes by foreigners, which stood at 6,144 in 2003, increased to 9,042 in 2005, 12,657 in 2006 and 14,524 in 2007.

Most noticeable was the steep increase in drug trafficking and fraud.

The number of arrested drug dealers, which remained at 73 in 2006, jumped to 231 in 2007 and 694 last year, according to the NPA figures.

The figure for drug crime suspects who were not arrested by the police after detection increased from 298 in 2007 to 928 last year.

The number of defrauders also rose from 834 in 2003 to 7,472 last year.

Top felonies such as murder and rape were no exception.

Foreign national murderers reached their highest number of 85 last year. The corresponding figures were 32 in 2003, 60 in 2004, 42 in 2005, 72 in 2006 and 54 in 2007.

The number of rapes committed by foreigners rose from 49 in 2003 to 62 in 2005 and 114 in 2008.

The increasing number of foreign nationals visiting or residing in the country largely contributed to the rise in the figures, according to officials.

A recent Justice Ministry survey showed that the number of foreigners permanently residing in Korea exceeded 1 million for the first time in August 2007.

"Despite the high foreign population, our administrative system is not so effective in controlling foreigners` crimes or stopping them from reentering the country after expulsion," said Park Wan-seok, a member of a civic group for foreign workers.

By Bae Hyun-jung



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