Korean Study Warns Partner Conflicts Can Put Families and Bystanders at Risk
A review of 80 selected court cases found that violence arising from intimate-partner conflicts often extended to relatives, children, new partners and others outside the relationship, underscoring the need for broader risk assessments.
Conflicts between spouses or romantic partners can expose relatives, children and other people outside the relationship to severe violence, according to a Korean study that calls for risk assessments to extend beyond the couple directly involved.
The study reviewed 80 selected court cases involving attacks committed from 1973 through 2021. Researchers identified at least 157 victims who were not themselves part of the intimate relationship at the center of the conflict. Of those victims, 144 were killed and 13 survived crimes including attempted homicide, serious assault, confinement and sexual violence.
In 51 of the cases, representing 63.8 percent of the sample, offenders attacked both a partner and at least one family member, or targeted relatives as a way of retaliating against a partner. Seventeen other cases involved attacks on a new romantic partner or someone the offender regarded as an obstacle to the relationship. The victims examined also included acquaintances, people who intervened at the scene and strangers.
The research was conducted by Gong Jung-sik, a professor at Kyonggi University, and appeared in the September issue of the Korean Journal of Safety Culture. The court judgments were collected and reviewed between May and August this year. Because the analysis covered selected cases rather than every incident nationwide, its figures describe the cases studied and should not be read as a national incidence rate. Even so, the findings show how violence rooted in an intimate relationship can spread beyond the immediate target.
The study said danger to family members and others should be considered when warning signs follow a separation, blocked contact or the appearance of a perceived romantic rival. Those signs may include blaming others, searching for potential targets and preparing an attack. The conclusion suggests that police, courts and victim-support services may need to consider a wider circle of people when evaluating threats and planning protection.
The issue has immediate relevance following a recent case in Seoul. On Tuesday, authorities arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of killing his mother-in-law and abducting his estranged wife. Police said the suspect told investigators that he resented his wife over legal proceedings she had initiated against him. The allegation remains subject to investigation and judicial proceedings.
Taken together, the research points to a broader understanding of intimate-partner violence: intervention may need to protect not only the person in the relationship, but also relatives, children, new partners and anyone likely to step in or become a focus of retaliation.