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Nearly 1 in 5 Korean women have experienced violence from a current or former partner: Survey

Published: 01 Dec. 2025, 17:22

The windshield of a car is seen shattered by citizens after a man tried to escape in the vehicle following an attack in which he stabbed and injured a woman in a hospital parking lot in Buk District, Ulsan, on July 28. [YONHAP]

Korea’s rate of intimate partner violence continued to climb last year, a government-commissioned survey showed on Monday, with nearly one in five women saying they had experienced abuse from a current or former partner at least once in their lives.

The findings come as a series of attacks by husbands, ex-boyfriends and former partners has renewed public scrutiny of Korea's protections for women.

Recent cases include a man in Incheon's Bupyeong District who killed his wife a week after a court lifted a restraining order; an ex-boyfriend in Ulsan who attempted to kill a woman in a parking lot after a breakup; and a man in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, who fatally attacked a woman at her workplace despite her receiving police protection. Another case in Gyeonggi involved a former partner in Dongtan District, Hwaseong, who abducted and killed an ex-girlfriend before taking his own life.

The Korea Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) based its analysis on surveys the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family carried out in 2021 and 2024, which polled about 7,000 women aged 19 or older on experiences of violence. The surveys defined intimate partners as current or former spouses, cohabiting partners and dating partners.

The share of women who said they had experienced at least one of five forms of violence — physical, sexual, emotional, economic or controlling behavior — climbed to 19.2 percent in 2024 from 16.1 percent in 2021. Physical or sexual violence alone rose to 14 percent from 10.6 percent, results showed.

“The finding that intimate partner violence against women continues to rise shows that women’s safety still isn’t fully protected, even in private relationships,” said Kim Hyo-jung, a deputy research fellow at the KWDI.

Women rights advocacy groups including Korea Women's Hot-line and Korean Women Workers Association hold a press conference demanding stronger legal frameworks to prevent domestic abuse in front of the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on July 31. [YONHAP]

Violence in the past year was more common among older women. Rates for the five types of abuse reached 4.5 percent among women in their 40s, 4.4 percent in their 50s and 4 percent in their 60s, all above the overall average of 3.5 percent. Women in their 40s also had the highest rate of physical or sexual violence at 2.8 percent.

Dating violence showed a similar upward trend. Lifetime experience of violence by a current or former dating partner rose to 6.4 percent last year from 5 percent in 2021, while physical or sexual dating violence increased to 4.6 percent from 3.5 percent.

Women in their 20s reported the highest rate of experiencing at least one form of dating violence over the past year at 2.3 percent.

KWDI President Kim Jong-soog said intimate partner violence has “spread as a structural problem across society,” adding that policies need to reflect changes in how people form relationships, including dating, cohabitation and nonmarital partnerships.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]