Domestic Violence Accounts for Half of Calls to Korea’s Women’s Hotline

SEOUL — Domestic violence accounted for more than half of the nearly 300,000 calls made to South Korea’s 1366 Women’s Emergency Hotline in 2024, highlighting the persistent demand for immediate counseling and support for abuse victims.

The nationwide service received 293,407 calls during the year, data from the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea showed. The annual volume has remained close to 290,000 in recent years, following 289,848 calls in 2022 and 294,328 in 2023.

Domestic violence was the largest category directly connected to criminal victimization, with 148,884 calls, or 50.7 percent of the total. Stalking accounted for 14,553 calls, equivalent to 5 percent, while sexual violence generated 14,117 calls and dating violence 11,338. About 35 percent of all contacts concerned other matters.

The figures also provide a closer view of the patterns behind reported abuse. Physical and emotional abuse were both involved in 71.8 percent of domestic violence cases. Spouses were identified as perpetrators in two-thirds of those cases, while parents accounted for 18.6 percent and children for 6.7 percent.

Among calls related to sexual violence, rape represented 45.6 percent. Other forms of sexual assault accounted for 36.5 percent and sexual harassment for 11.1 percent. In 83.1 percent of cases, the alleged offender was known to the victim, including workplace contacts in 18.9 percent.

The hotline also handled requests that reflected wider emotional and family pressures. Calls seeking help with emotional or mental health concerns made up 17.4 percent of the total, while family-related consultations accounted for 1.6 percent. Another 13.8 percent were classified as miscellaneous, including basic inquiries.

Foreign nationals placed 14,290 calls. Vietnamese callers formed the largest group at 5,244, followed by Chinese nationals at 2,467 and people from the Philippines at 1,548. Cambodian callers accounted for 1,080. The hotline can connect foreign callers with counseling in their own language.

Victims themselves made 84 percent of all calls. Police and other related organizations placed 12.8 percent, while family members, acquaintances and spouses accounted for smaller shares. Men made about 6 percent of total calls, and roughly one-third of those callers contacted the service as crime victims.

Established in 1998, the 1366 service receives reports and consultation requests involving domestic and sexual violence, stalking and dating violence. The latest figures show that the service remains a major point of contact for people facing abuse, while the consistently high annual call volume underscores the scale and durability of the need.