A hallway at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is seen at the government complex in central Seoul in 2025. [YONHAP]
More than half of all those convicted of sex crimes against minors in Korea over the past decade avoided prison time, receiving suspended sentences instead, a Ministry of Gender Equality and Family report released Tuesday showed.
A total of 30,987 people were registered as sex offenders for crimes against children and adolescents between 2015 and 2024, the ministry said. Of those, 51.5 percent were given suspended sentences, while 36.7 percent were sentenced to prison and 10.9 percent were fined. The average prison sentence over the decade ran 45.4 months — about three years and 10 months — down from 48.4 months in 2015.
The figures were presented at the ministry's 16th Committee for the Prevention of Violence against Women meeting. Indecent assault made up the largest share of offenses over the decade at 42.9 percent, or 13,308 cases. After several years of decline, both the number of perpetrators and the number of victims began rising again in 2020, the ministry said, with 2024 reaching the highest level in either category over the 10-year period.
A separate, detailed analysis examined 3,927 court rulings from 2024 in which offenders were registered as sex criminals for crimes against victims under 19. The study was commissioned by the ministry and carried out by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice.
The 3,927 cases involved 5,072 victims with an average age of 13.9. Nearly a quarter — 24.9 percent — were younger than 13. The most common offenses by victim were indecent assault at 29.9 percent, sexual exploitation material at 26.3 percent and rape at 18.1 percent.
In 65.3 percent of cases, the perpetrator was an acquaintance of the victim but not a family member or relative. Strangers accounted for 24.4 percent, and family members or relatives 6.4 percent.
The internet figured prominently in the cases. Some 38.1 percent of victims were targeted by someone they had met online. Chat apps and open chat rooms accounted for the largest share of initial contact at 42.5 percent, followed by social media at 33.6 percent and messenger apps at 7.6 percent. In 59.6 percent of cases that began online, the contact eventually led to an offline meeting.
The 3,927 perpetrators analyzed had an average age of 33.2. Among them, 452, or 11.5 percent, were under 19. Repeat offenders previously convicted of the same type of crime made up 15.2 percent of the total.
"Considering this declining trend [in prison sentences], we plan to conduct an in-depth analysis of factors that affect sentencing in court rulings on sex crimes against children and adolescents," Lee Kyung-sook, the director-general of the ministry's Gender Equality Policy Office, said.
The ministry also announced measures to strengthen its response to sexual harassment and sexual violence in the public sector. Annual inspections of harassment prevention efforts at every public institution will be factored into evaluations of public organizations and universities, the ministry said, as part of an effort to hold institutions more accountable. People who help victims will also be protected from retaliation, it added.
Separately, the ministry addressed the killing of a high school girl in Gwangju on May 5, calling the case "violence against women committed against a vulnerable female adolescent."
"The government had been responding to serious crimes against women since the 2016 Gangnam Station murder," Lee said at a briefing on Monday, referring to a fatal stabbing of a woman by a man she was not acquainted with. "But we will re-examine whether there have been any blind spots," Lee said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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