U.S. reports 1,193 Korean victims as overseas offenses rise 45%

More than 1,100 Korean nationals in the United States reported being victims of crimes or accidents last year, while crimes committed by Koreans abroad surged 45% in the past four years, according to official data submitted to South Korea’s National Assembly.

According to Hu-deok Yoon of South Korea’s Democratic Party of Korea, citing a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of 17,283 Koreans experienced incidents overseas in 2023. By country, Japan recorded the most with 2,348, followed by Vietnam with 1,767, and the United States with 1,193.

In the United States, most cases involved theft, the report showed. The number of incident reports by Koreans in the U.S. dropped from 1,344 in 2019 to around 730–840 between 2020 and 2022, but has since rebounded, surpassing 1,000 again in 2023.

Meanwhile, overseas crimes committed by Koreans have sharply increased. Ki-hyun Kim of South Korea’s People Power Party said that, according to Foreign Ministry data, the number of overseas Koreans identified as offenders rose from 2,297 in 2020 to 3,321 in 2024, marking a 45% increase. In the first half of 2024 alone, 1,876 Koreans were reported as perpetrators of crimes abroad.

Among them, 1,180 offenses occurred in the United States between 2020 and the first half of 2024, with nearly 49% related to immigration violations, such as illegal entry, overstaying, or breaking visa conditions.

An annual report by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) found that from 2020–2024, 367 South Korean nationals were deported for unlawful stay in the U.S.—over five times higher than the 70 deportations recorded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the same period. The ministry said immigration-related offenses, including illegal entry and overstays, have exceeded 1,000 cases annually.

Serious crimes have also risen. The number of Koreans overseas involved in rape or sexual assault grew from 31 in 2020 to 74 in 2024, while murder cases increased from 13 to 27 during the same period.

Koreans missing or untraceable abroad are also increasing. According to Ki-won Hong of South Korea’s Democratic Party of Korea, 52 Koreans who went missing overseas between 2020–2024 remain unlocated. Year by year, unresolved cases were 2 in 2020, 6 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 18 in 2023, and 23 in 2024. Over this period, three cases occurred in the Americas.

Lawmakers also criticized staffing shortages at the Overseas Koreans Agency, which was launched two years ago. Jae-jung Lee of South Korea’s Democratic Party of Korea noted that despite two years since its establishment, no dedicated consular officer for diaspora affairs has been dispatched to any overseas mission. The agency’s predecessor, the Overseas Koreans Foundation, had previously assigned staff to seven major consulates, including Los Angeles, New York, China, and Japan.

In response, the Overseas Koreans Agency said it plans to deploy one officer each to consulates in Los Angeles, Japan, and China, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]