Contrary to the common belief that knife crimes occur mainly in entertainment districts during late-night weekend hours, data shows such incidents happen more frequently in everyday spaces like residential neighborhoods and commercial areas during weekday evening hours. Based on these analytical findings, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has decided to adjust patrol deployments across its jurisdiction while implementing preventive measures using advanced equipment including artificial intelligence and drones.
According to the Seoul police's analysis of 307 public-space knife crime cases from last year, released on the 26th, the highest number of incidents occurred on Tuesdays (18.2%). The combined weekend share of Saturday and Sunday (26.4%) was relatively low, showing a clear difference from crimes such as murder or robbery. By time of day, 45% of all cases were concentrated between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., when people commute home from work.
Crime locations were overwhelmingly concentrated in areas with high civilian foot traffic, including residential neighborhoods (40.4%) and commercial districts (25.4%), far exceeding entertainment district clusters (6.2%). Areas near transit hubs including subway stations (14.0%) also saw more than twice the incident frequency of entertainment districts. In effect, more violent crimes occurred on ordinary streets that citizens pass through daily.
The average age of knife crime suspects was 49.7 years. Those in their 50s and older accounted for 54.7% of all suspects, comprising a majority. Approximately 50.5% of perpetrators were found to have suspected mental health issues or were intoxicated. The most common motive was no particular reason (46.7%), followed by cases where minor daily conflicts such as noise between floors or parking disputes escalated into crime (20.4%).
Based on these findings, the Seoul police plan to implement phased preventive measures. First, 17 districts within Seoul with high incident concentrations, including Yeongdeungpo, Guro, and Songpa, will be designated as priority zones for concentrated deployment of mobile patrol units and riot police. The agency plans to focus patrol resources particularly during weekday evening hours, which the data identified as vulnerable periods.
Prevention activities incorporating advanced technology will also be conducted in parallel. Starting in April, "AI-drone equipped mobile patrol vehicles" with 90x zoom cameras and object recognition capabilities will be deployed in the Yeongdeungpo and Guro areas. This equipment will detect risk indicators in real time, including crowd density and weapon threats, to support rapid initial response.
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jung-bo said, "Knife crime is a serious problem where even a single incident can deliver a major shock to an entire community." He added, "We will diagnose risk factors in everyday spaces through data and secure citizen safety through a multifaceted approach including patrols, environmental improvements, and protective measures for high-risk groups."