Homicides in South Korea
South Korea: Homicides was 320 deaths in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
320 deaths
Change on year
down 10.9%
World rank
30th
of 113 countries
All-time high
1,025 deaths
in 1998
All-time low
320 deaths
in 2022
Years of data
38
1985–2022
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.
Homicides in South Korea, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 395 deaths | — |
| 1986 | 412 deaths | +4.3% |
| 1987 | 447 deaths | +8.5% |
| 1988 | 431 deaths | -3.6% |
| 1989 | 595 deaths | +38.1% |
| 1990 | 658 deaths | +10.6% |
| 1991 | 620 deaths | -5.8% |
| 1992 | 560 deaths | -9.7% |
| 1993 | 721 deaths | +28.7% |
| 1994 | 720 deaths | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 859 deaths | +19.3% |
| 1996 | 906 deaths | +5.5% |
| 1997 | 1,016 deaths | +12.1% |
| 1998 | 1,025 deaths | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 810 deaths | -21.0% |
| 2000 | 834 deaths | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 772 deaths | -7.4% |
| 2002 | 814 deaths | +5.4% |
| 2003 | 857 deaths | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 889 deaths | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 877 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 801 deaths | -8.7% |
| 2007 | 706 deaths | -11.9% |
| 2008 | 685 deaths | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 676 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 624 deaths | -7.7% |
| 2011 | 552 deaths | -11.5% |
| 2012 | 542 deaths | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 564 deaths | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 512 deaths | -9.2% |
| 2015 | 519 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 438 deaths | -15.6% |
| 2017 | 415 deaths | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 397 deaths | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 410 deaths | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 388 deaths | -5.4% |
| 2021 | 359 deaths | -7.5% |
| 2022 | 320 deaths | -10.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 320 deaths is above the median for high income countries, which is 63 deaths, 5.1× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 320 deaths is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 130.5 deaths, 2.5× the median. (12 countries reporting)
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
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 4,407 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 117 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (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.