The number of reports on domestic violence has surged, but the police arrested the suspect and actively investigated only one out of ten incidents. According to the information that Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kang Chang-il received from the National Policy Agency on October 29, over 1.1 million cases of domestic violence were reported during five years, from 2013 to 2017. Among them, 280,000 cases were reported last year. This is a 74% increase from the number of reports made in 2013 (160,000). But compared to the number of reports over the five years, the police only detained 13% of the people responsible for the domestic violence. Also, of the 164,000 people that the police detained for domestic violence from 2015 to June this year, they only arrested 1,632 people--less than 1%. When the police take such a lukewarm attitude in investigating domestic violence, the victims are exposed to retaliation by the perpetrators and the possibility of a vicious cycle where the offense is repeated is likely to increase. In fact, the recidivism rate for domestic violence jumped from 4.1% in 2015 to 8.9% this year.

Many experts suggest that the murder of an ex-wife that occurred in Seoul recently was also a tragedy that occurred because the police had not responded properly to domestic violence, which had lasted for two decades of the couple's marriage. On October 29, 690 women's groups including the Korea Women's Hotline held a press conference and criticized the state, including the police, Prosecution Service and the courts, for neglecting domestic violence. One victim made a statement describing how she had suffered from domestic violence for sixteen years. After their divorce, her ex-husband came to her home and smashed the door, but the police simply said, "You should take good care of the situation," and left. Another victim, who said she had suffered at the hands of a violent father since she was a child, had reported her father to the police when he came at her with a knife claiming to kill her. The police told her, "He's still your father. How could you report him?" The women shouted, "Domestic violence only ends when the victim dies," telling us to look back on the incompetence of society and the state in responding to domestic violence.

In March, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women pointed out that the problem was that the Act on the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence aimed to maintain and restore the family rather than to protect the rights of the victim and recommended the South Korean government to amend the bill. In other words, South Korea's response to domestic violence was wrong, beginning with the law. Women point out holes in the system and legislation. For instance, when the offender violates the court’s restraining order, he is punished only with a fine, and prosecutors do not prosecute the perpetrator on condition that he receives counseling from a domestic violence counseling center. Domestic violence can no longer be regarded as a problem "within the home." The government should recognize domestic violence as a serious crime and seek ways to more actively protect the victims and strictly punish the perpetrators.