Foreign Crime Suspects in South Korea Up 6% in Three Years, Murder Cases Up 10.9%, Two Years After Police Downsized Its Foreign Affairs Bureau
This article organizes publicly available information into a single account. Where it describes an arrest or an ongoing investigation, that reflects only one stage of criminal procedure and does not mean guilt has been established (the presumption of innocence applies). We will update this article as new information becomes available, including the outcome of prosecution, non-prosecution, or trial. This article is not intended to unfairly disparage any individual, group, nationality, ethnicity, or belief, and aims to provide objective, fact-based information.
The number of foreign nationals suspected of crimes in South Korea has continued to rise. According to an October 5, 2026 report by the Hankook Ilbo, foreign crime suspects in the country increased from 32,737 in 2023 to 34,760 in 2025, a rise of more than 6%. Murder suspects, including attempted murder, rose 10.9% from 46 to 51, having spiked to 73 in 2024.
By offense, theft rose from 2,768 to 3,274 suspects (up 18.3%), traffic offenses from 7,262 to 8,170 (up 12.5%), and other offenses from 7,740 to 9,494 (up 22.7%), while suspects held in custody increased from 1,789 to 2,000 (up 11.8%). By nationality, sharp increases were notable among Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan up 25.6%, Kazakhstan up 26.5%, and Mongolia up 19.1%. The Korean National Police Agency reorganized toward frontline policing beginning in 2023 in response to "abnormal motive crimes," and in the process downsized the Foreign Affairs Bureau — which had handled foreign crime and international investigations — into an international cooperation office. Two years on from that downsizing, the agency's capacity to respond is now under scrutiny.
Current status: Whether the Korean National Police Agency will again strengthen its structure for handling foreign crime, and how it analyzes the relationship with the growing foreign resident population, remain unclear as of this writing. This article will be updated as further details emerge.
On foreign crime in South Korea, statistics on 110 foreign nationals who committed crimes abroad and were hiding in the country were also reported in September 2026. Related article
Editorial Perspective
The Technical Intern Training Program is set to be replaced by the new Employment for Skill Development system in April 2027 (related article), and developments like this one can be seen as part of the institutional design process during that transition. Expanding acceptance also requires resolving practical issues such as broker problems in sending countries and building proper oversight systems among accepting employers. For the new system to work as intended rather than merely on paper, it will be important to continue examining how it actually operates once implemented.