'I'll give you a ride home': Attempted child abductions near daily across South Korea

In August last year, a group of men in their 20s attempted to lure four elementary school students into a vehicle near a school in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, as the children were walking home. The men approached the children three times over roughly five minutes and even reversed their vehicle to chase the fleeing students. A year after the incident, the defendants were indicted without detention last August and remain free as their trial continues.

The case is part of a broader trend: crimes involving the abduction and enticement of minors have nearly doubled over the past five years. More than 320 such incidents were recorded nationwide through September this year alone — roughly one a day — and Seoul has already surpassed its full-year total from last year with three months still remaining.

Even as child abduction crimes continue to mount, critics say the government's stated commitment to a tough response has not translated into action, pointing to cases where suspects were indicted without detention and no new arrest warrants were sought.

According to the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-a, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Korean National Police Agency data show that nationwide cases of minor abduction and enticement rose from 193 in 2021 to 338 last year — an increase of roughly 1.8 times. The annual figures were 221 in 2022, 258 in 2023 and 233 in 2024. Through September this year, 322 cases have been recorded, approaching last year's full-year total.

The surge has been particularly pronounced in Seoul. Cases in the capital rose from 45 in 2021 to 67 last year. Through September this year, 73 cases have already been recorded, surpassing last year's annual figure.

Attempted enticement cases — incidents where a suspect tried but failed to lure a minor away — have spiked especially sharply. Nationwide, such cases jumped from 53 in 2024 to 133 last year, a roughly 2.5-fold increase. Through September this year, 126 cases have been reported. In Seoul, the figure doubled from 15 in 2024 to 30 last year, with 29 cases recorded through September this year.

Against this backdrop, the law enforcement response to the Seodaemun-gu case has drawn fire. According to the indictment, the defendants had conspired in advance to get children into their car. The driver reportedly selected a target and told an accomplice, "She's cute — go talk to her." The men then approached the children with lines such as "Want to go eat jjamppong? I'll give you a ride home."

Police arrested three suspects on an emergency basis in September last year and sought arrest warrants for two of them, but a court rejected the applications. The court cited "room for dispute over the facts of the charges and intent" and noted that the suspects had fixed residences and posed no risk of destroying evidence or fleeing.

At the first hearing on Wednesday, the defendants denied the abduction charges. Their defense attorney argued that "there was absolutely no intention to lure the children into the car or to control them," calling the incident "a simple prank."

Police referred two suspects to prosecutors without detention in March on charges of attempted enticement. Prosecutors subsequently added child abuse charges through a supplementary investigation and indicted the pair without detention last August. Despite the additional charges, police did not seek a new arrest warrant.

"More than a year after the Seodaemun elementary school attempted abduction, parents are gripped with anxiety every time their children walk to and from school, while the defendants roam free calling it 'a simple prank,'" Kim said. "The lax response from investigators to crimes targeting children is deepening public anxiety."

Kim added that "protecting the safety of the public — and children in particular — is the state's most fundamental duty," and called for a zero-tolerance approach to crimes against children from the investigation and indictment stages onward.

President Lee Jae Myung had also directed authorities to conduct a swift investigation and draw up thorough countermeasures following the Seodaemun-gu incident last September. At a senior staff meeting at the time, Lee said, "When it comes to public safety, overreacting is a hundred times better than doing nothing," and urged relevant ministries to "restore public trust through immediate action, not words."

Meanwhile, the government announced a comprehensive plan last November to secure children's safety on their way to and from school, pledging to actively seek arrest warrants in cases of child abduction and enticement by strangers. The plan also included measures to prove criminal intent using closed-circuit television footage and digital forensics, and to apply emotional child abuse charges where applicable.