Current situation 26. The last administration defined domestic violence as one of the four social evils and made pledges to create a safe society by providing a comprehensive countermeasures. However, home protection cases have risen by 376.9 per cent during the past ten years (2006~2015) according to the ‘White Paper on Crime’ published by the Institute of Justice in 2016. 27. While it is analyzed that the increase in domestic protection cases is the result of active reaction by investigative agency, when looking at the outcome of proceedings, it is hard to hold confidence whether domestic violence is considered as crime and dealt with accordingly. The same data reveals that out of 16,868 home protection cases, 7,319 cases (43.4 per cent) were subject to nonpunishment in 2015 showing a big increase from 31.8 per cent in 2006. The high rate of nonpunishment brings into question whether the victims receive de facto protection given that 84.4 per cent of all cases are the charges of injury or assault. 28. The Government’s lax attitude on the crimes of domestic violence affects the victims to less likely to ask for help from police. The ‘2016 Fact-finding Survey on Domestic Violence’ announced by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family shows that only 2.8 per cent of the female victims of domestic violence reported the case to the police. 29. The reason behind these female victims not resorting to the official support system could be attributed to their judgment that the support for victims or outcomes of proceedings does not guarantee de facto assistance or protection for them, not because their damages are not severe enough to be reported. According to the data from the Ministry of Justice and others, in 2016, indictment rates for domestic violence stands only at 8.5 per cent and arrest rates only at 0.9 per cent. 30. Three major causes could be attributed to the tendency of non-punishment of crimes of domestic violence. First of all, domestic violence cases are forwarded as home protection cases based on the object clause in the ‘Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence’ (38.2 per cent in 2016). Secondly, the introduction and enforcement of the ‘Suspension of Indictment on Condition of Counseling’ system allows the assailants to be exempted from obligation. Thirdly, Article 9 of the ‘Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of 9