The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will provide legal and financial support to victims of date crimes, in an effort to respond to the rising number of cases. 

“We are planning to provide financial support to 20 to 50 victims during the second half of this year, and will gradually increase the number of recipients from next year,” said Bae Hyun-sook, women policy division manager at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. 

Starting from the end of July, the city government will help victims receive legal counseling as well as medical treatment. The budget and method of application are still under discussion, the city government said.

It will also publish a booklet on how to cope with physical and psychological violence by romantic partners. The booklet will include a survey conducted on 2,000 women aged 10 to 60 and experts’ opinions on the need for state support and effective countermeasures such as protective facilities. 

“Many victims still hide and are afraid to speak up about their experiences. We believe municipal effort to help those victims in need is urgent,” said the city government. 

Earlier this month, data from the National Police Agency showed that 8,367 people were booked on charges of physical violence against their partners in 2015, up 8.8 percent from the previous year. The total number of physical assault cases here was 305,957 in 2015.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)