(Photo: Yonhap)
More than 80,000 cases of dating violence were reported in South Korea in the past five years, with more than 200 cases resulting in murder, police data showed Monday.
According to the data by the National Police Agency, obtained by Democratic Party Representative Yang Ki-dae, more than 61,000 of the cases involved serious types of violence, including sexual violence, assault, confinement and intimidation.
In particular, there were 227 cases of dating violence that resulted in murder during the five-year period and 644 that involved sexual violence.
The annual total of dating violence cases rose steadily from 9,364 in 2016 to 18,945 last year.
"Statistics indicate if such crimes are repeated or are extreme, they can potentially lead to violent crimes such as murder," Yang said.
Last week, an anti-stalking law took effect making the crime punishable by up to three years in jail or 30 million won in fines.
It also enables police to take more active measures to respond to acts of stalking, such as providing protection for victims during an investigation and issuing restraining orders against potential suspects.
Police are expected to respond more seriously to dating violence reports in line with the tougher law against stalkers.
Yang stressed that in order to prevent dating violence, there needs to be more legal measures and harsher punishment to fit the seriousness of the crime.
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