The justice ministry said Monday it has recently started sharing the fingerprint information of all foreigners in the country with police as part of efforts to better deal with domestic crimes committed by aliens.

In South Korea, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for collecting personal information on all foreigners.

This has often been cited for a delay in police investigations to arrest foreign suspects, as they had to send official documents to the ministry to gain access to such information.

As of Wednesday, police have been provided access to data on foreigners who are staying in the country for less than 90 days, according to the ministry, which would allow the investigators to immediately check the identity of foreign suspects. Previously, police could only access the information of foreigners who are staying in the country for more than 90 days.

"Amid a rising interest in violence committed by foreigners, we will continue to cooperate to better tackle such crimes," the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap)