Homicides in South Korea
South Korea: Homicides was 320 deaths in 2022. ▼ Falling
Homicides in South Korea, 1985–2022
Source: WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 320 deaths for homicides in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 38 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.9% on the previous year and down 41.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in South Korea peaked at 1,025 deaths in 1998 and was at its lowest, 320 deaths, in 2022.
That places South Korea 30th out of 113 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 38 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 456 deaths | 395 deaths | 595 deaths | 5 |
| 1990s | 789.5 deaths | 560 deaths | 1,025 deaths | 10 |
| 2000s | 791.1 deaths | 676 deaths | 889 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 497.3 deaths | 397 deaths | 624 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 355.67 deaths | 320 deaths | 388 deaths | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More social development data for South Korea
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 117 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.819 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.933 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.839 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.819 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.551 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.739 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in South Korea?
- Homicides in South Korea was 320 deaths in 2022, according to WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1,025 deaths in 1998.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 320 deaths in 2022.
- How does South Korea rank for homicides?
- South Korea ranks 30th out of 113 countries with data for 2022.
- Is homicides rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from WHO Mortality Database (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual number of homicides.