Violent crimes committed by people aged 65 or more soared nearly 40 percent over the past two years, with poverty, illness and loneliness cited as the major reasons, data showed Sunday.

Seniors have increasingly committed more crimes in recent years than before, with the total number of cases reaching 77,260 in 2013, up 12.2 percent from 2011, according to data by the Korean National Police Agency.

In particular, the increase in the number of violent crimes including murder, robbery, rape and arson, committed by senior citizens was noticeable, showing a 39.9 percent jump during the two-year period. A total of 1,062 violent crime cases were reported to the police in 2013.

The number of sexual crimes by seniors rose most rapidly from 608 in 2011 to 819 cases in 2013.

The population aged 65 and older rose by 9.6 percent during the cited two years.

The majority of the senior offenders said that they committed violent crimes “impulsively” while some did so due to dissatisfaction with reality or trouble with family, according to the police data.

Experts point to economic difficulties, illness and loneliness as the reasons behind the upward trend of serious crimes by seniors.

“Behind the crimes are seniors who failed to position themselves and find a role in society after retirement,” said Jang Joong-oh, a research fellow from Korean Institute of Criminology in his 2009 study on the elderly crime.

“Also, the elderly tend to commit crimes to secure money they need to maintain the quality of life they used to have before they retired,” he said.

Korea has the highest poverty rate for the elderly among OECD countries, with about 48.6 percent of those aged 65 and older categorized as poor in 2011. The rate for seniors who live alone is even higher at 74 percent.

About 1 in 3 seniors suffers from depression, with 89.2 percent of them chronically ill from high blood pressure, diabetes or arthritic conditions. One in 10 said that they felt suicidal, mostly due to economic reasons, according to a government survey.

“To prevent crimes by the elderly, the government needs to create jobs and expands welfare benefits for the age group while leading seniors to participate more in social activities,” Jang said in his study.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)