Crime and crime control

This article provides an overall picture of crime and crime control in Korea over the past 30 years. By using official crime data, we examined general trends and characteristics of crime, crime rates, and crime control practices in each stage of the criminal justice system in Korea during that period. The relative seriousness of crime problems in Korea is also examined from a comparative perspective by engaging in a cross-national comparison. The findings of this research indicate that the overall crime problem in Korea is not as serious as that in Japan and in the United States. Recent data, however, show an alarming increase in the crime rates in Korea during the past several years. These results are interpreted within a social context, and we can determine that economic, political, and socio-cultural factors have played and continue to play a crucial role in crime and crime control practices. Recent phenomena, such as the financial crisis that hit Korea in the late 1990s, and the current political stalemate in Korea, seem to have contributed to the disturbing increase in crime and crime rates.