Korean Job Discussion Forums

[warmachinenkorea]

http://asiancorrespondent.com/85740/skorean-violent-crime-rate-exceeds-united-states/

What do you think?

The number of violent crimes in our country is now at least double the number in the United States and 12 times the number in Japan, a study has found.

Park Dong-gyun, chairman of the Korean Association for Public Security Administration (한국치안행정학회), said in a conference at the National Police Agency�s great hall that �in 2010 there were 609.2 violent crimes per 10,000 people in our country, significantly more than the figures of 252.3 in the United States and 50.4 in Japan.�

Chairman Park said that �this is the result of the interaction of social factors in our country such as the relatively tolerated drinking [culture] involved in a high number of violent crimes as well as the indulgence of ordinary violent acts� this environment creates a cycle of violence and impedes our development into an advanced nation.�

Jang Jun-oh, chairman of the Korea Criminological Institute (대한범죄학회), said that �from a random sample of 401 murders committed in the 13 years from from 1990 through 2002, we found that 40.9% of the assailants had prior convictions for violent crimes� we need to raise awareness of the possibility that ordinary violence can lead to more serious crimes.�

Kim Gi-yong, head of the NPA, said that �we plan to begin cracking down seriously on five types of violence: organized crime violence, violence involving intoxication, violence involving extortion, sexual violence, and school violence.�

[fermentation]

Both the English and original Korean article don't define exactly what "violent crime" is. It's hard to believe that there are more murders in Korea than in the US but I can see there being more school violence and sex related crimes.

What the hell is "ordinary violence?"

[fosterman]

violence doesn't mean killing,
the domestic violence statistics in Korea are VERY high.
also drunken violence is one of the highest.

[nathanrutledge]

A violent crime in the United States (according to the FBI UCR) is murder and non negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Ordinary violence would probably be lesser crimes. Again, referencing the FBI UCR, crimes are classified as Part 1 and Part 2 offenses. Part 1 is divided into violent and property crimes. Property crimes are arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Part 2 crimes are pretty much everything else.

I would assume (probably a mistake) that the data being compared is comparable - i.e. the Korean data is covering the same stuff as the US data. But that means that VIOLENT crime (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) is double the US numbers. Hmm.... I could see property crimes as being higher, and if ALL rape was included in the violent crime category, that I could see. But as it is, this seems suspect to me.

IMHO, it's probably a matter of perspective. Aggravated assault is assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, or with the intent to commit a felony. A couple of guys tanked on soju bashing each other with a bottle - does that count? By FBI UCR standards, yes it does, but do we as the general population consider it a crime? Probably not. At the same time, rape is the most under-reported crime across all jurisdictions. So those numbers are definitely skewed in comparison to our perceptions.

Overall, on the surface it seems suspect, but if you think about it, it's probably accurate.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

[warmachinenkorea]

[comm]

Huh. I guess they started counting violence against wives recently. Good for them.

[Mr. BlackCat]

Just looking at the perspective of violent crime between the two countries:

US: News on every medium sensationalizes every crime and wallpapers the public with fear and paranoia. Even non-violent crimes such as drug offenses are treated as dangerous and evil, adding to the perception that violent maniacs are around every corner.

Korea: Foreigners don't really watch the news. Society makes every effort to downplay or hide crimes in an effort to save face, and punishments are often insignificant giving the impression that the offender is not dangerous.

[markhan]

[comm]

[Steelrails]

I think the difference in perception is more due to the types of crimes, rather than frequency

I don't worry about strong-arm robberies, stick-up jobs, or gangs of punks jumping me (though I'm sure they happen). Violent crimes against strangers.

But the numbers show that there's plenty of crime here, much of it I suspect between people who know each other.

[slothrop]

edit

[comm]

[motiontodismiss]

[Mr. BlackCat]