Seoul police review 8,800 relationship-crime cases, launch probes into 18

Seoul police have conducted a full review of 8,800 relationship-crime cases in the city and taken additional measures to prevent further harm. It was the third such review this year, carried out as killings of former partners and spouses continued to occur.

Where criminal investigation was deemed necessary, police launched pre-indictment probes. In cases requiring the immediate separation of perpetrators and victims, police applied for arrest warrants. Private security support was also provided as a precautionary measure.

Ko Beom-seok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing held Monday at the agency's office in Jongno-gu that police had conducted a full review of 8,800 relationship-crime cases from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30, and had launched pre-indictment investigations into 18 of them.

Ko added that through continuous monitoring, police had taken perpetrator-isolation measures — including arrest warrant applications — in 297 cases, and had added 226 safety measures for victim protection, including private security support.

Through this latest review, police arranged 19 additional private security assignments. The measure is deployed when a victim is assessed to be at high risk. Including actions taken through the review, police had provided a total of 80 private security assignments as of the end of October this year.

Police said earlier that previous full reviews had produced a preventive effect, and said the latest review had also helped avert additional harm.

The first and second reviews this year covered 3,902 and 10,999 cases, respectively. Through those reviews, police identified a total of 1,381 cases requiring follow-up action and took subsequent measures including arrest warrant applications and electronic monitoring device requests.