As anxiety has grown following a string of recent attempted abductions and kidnappings targeting children, police said on the 15th that the number of abduction cases is at a level similar to previous years.
At a regular press briefing that morning, a police official said, "The case statistics have remained at levels similar to previous years, but we need to analyze further to reflect the most recent figures."
On 28th, police sought arrest warrants for three men in their 20s who tried to abduct an elementary school student in Seodaemun District, Seoul, but the court rejected the request. Since then, reports of attempted abductions targeting minors have come in from across the country.
Some speculated that child sexual exploitation material might be being posted on the dark web. In response, an official at the Korean National Police Agency said, "The dark web has not been confirmed."
Meanwhile, acting Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Yu Jae-seong said, "As many abduction and enticement crimes against minors have occurred and the public is anxious, we are making an all-out response to prevent a recurrence," adding, "Each provincial police agency and police station is analyzing past cases, crime occurrence times, and locations, and based on that, we are reinforcing visible preventive patrols."
Asked whether reports of abduction and enticement of minors had surged recently, he said, "We will check the 112 emergency call statistics separately."
Of the 316 abduction and enticement crimes that occurred nationwide last year, 233 cases (73.7%) targeted minors. The number of abduction and enticement crimes against minors was 258 in 2023 and 221 in 2022, exceeding 200 cases each year over the past three years. There has not yet been an official tally for this year.