In the period leading up to May this year, 1,044 teenagers were arrested and 547 of them had committed violent crimes such as murder, robbery and arson.

Experts said that most of the juvenile delinquents had spontaneously committed their crimes out of curiosity and lacked a sense of guilt for their wrongdoing.

In Gwangju, South Jeolla Province on Wednesday, a 17-year-old runaway high school student surnamed Choi, was arrested under charges of breaking into an apartment and robbing and murdering a housewife in her 50s.

The police said Choi had prepared three knives and pliers for the allegedly premediated crime. According to the police, Choi had brutally murdered the victim and meticulously removed traces from the house.

In Daejeon, North Chungcheong Province in May, a teenager brutally beat a woman he did not know, because he was upset after fighting with a friend.

In Ansan, Gyeonggi Province in April, a teenager set an extracurricular academic institute on fire, which resulted in the death of two.

In Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, a high-school student strangled his girlfriend and abandoned her body.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency said, “The majority of teenagers who commit crimes are usually the ones who ran away from their homes or schools, who lack the protection and care provided by social institutions.”

"They fail to understand the gravity of their crimes and the implications that their wrongdoings will have on the rest of their lives,” said the agency, calling for the need to establish a society-wide support net that can give necessary guidance to such individuals.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)