Juvenile crime surges 45% in four years, topping 50,000 cases
Juvenile crime cases filed with courts surpassed 50,000 last year, with the number of juvenile protection cases rising nearly 45% over four years. According to the Supreme Court's Judicial Yearbook released on the 2nd, juvenile protection cases (trials handling crimes and delinquency by minors) filed with courts nationwide in 2025 totaled 51,325, up 0.9% from the previous year (50,848). Juvenile protection cases rose steadily over four years, from 35,438 in 2021 to 43,042 in 2022, 50,094 in 2023, and 50,848 in 2024.
By offense type, theft was the most common. Theft cases last year numbered 16,666, accounting for 32.5% of the total. They were followed by violations of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Violence (4,168 cases, 8.1%), assault (4,016 cases, 7.8%), fraud (3,247 cases, 6.3%), and Road Traffic Act violations (2,647 cases, 5.2%).
Sex crime cases showed diverging trends. Violations of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act fell 6.7% to 2,257 cases from 2024 (2,419), but violations of the Youth Sexual Protection Act surged 31.8% year-on-year to 1,877. Combined juvenile protection cases for sex crimes rose 8%, from 3,843 the previous year to 4,134.
Of the 50,483 juvenile protection cases handled last year, 30,410, or 60.2%, resulted in protective dispositions. By age, those aged 14 to under 16 were the largest group at 10,054 (33.1%), followed by those aged 16 to under 18 (9,765, 32.1%), under 14 (6,718, 22.1%), and 18 to under 19 (3,873, 12.7%).
During the same period, family protection cases, including domestic violence and abuse, also increased. Family protection cases filed last year totaled 20,168, up 11.4% from 2024 (18,106). Injury and assault were the most common at 14,270 cases (70.8%), followed by intimidation (3,084 cases, 15.3%) and property damage (2,468 cases, 12.2%).
Both juvenile protection cases and family protection cases are heard by the juvenile divisions of family courts and district courts, which decide on protective dispositions such as community service, probation, or commitment to a juvenile detention center.
