South Korea Short Of Police Officers To Monitor Electronic Anklet Wearers Despite Rising Violations

SEOUL, Oct 12 (NNN-Yonhap) -- South Korea’s police are facing a shortage of officers to keep track of electronic ankle monitors, despite nearly 600 violations of relevant rules this year alone, data showed Monday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to the data submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Representative Kim Han-kyu of the ruling Democratic Party, 599 violations were recorded between January and July this year, 590 of them breaches of curfew or stay-at-home orders.

The number of criminals monitored via GPS-tracked electronic anklets reached 5,273 as of July, up 9.24 per cent from end-2025, and is expected to reach over 5,500 by year-end.

The number of field officers assigned to monitor them stood at only 234 as of August, the data showed. As of end-July, each officer oversaw an average of 20.4 anklet wearers, compared with 17.1 in 2022.

In 2013, the ministry established special crime prevention units, pairing a probation officer with a martial arts expert, to analyse the movements of anklet wearers and catch violators.

The number of martial arts officers stood at 167 as of August, falling short of the official quota of 170.

Field officers also face growing physical threats, with seven probation officers and five martial arts experts assaulted by wearers in the first eight months of this year, according to the data.

--NNN-YONHAP