SEOUL - South Korea's school violence victimization rate hit a record high this year due to a rapid increase in victimized elementary school students, a government survey showed Tuesday.

The proportion of students who experienced school violence for the past year was 2.5 percent of the total in 2025, up 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year, according to the Ministry of Education.

It marked the highest since the relevant survey began in 2013. The result was based on an online survey conducted for four weeks till May 13 with fourth to sixth graders in elementary school as well as middle and high school students.

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After temporarily sliding to 0.9 percent in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the school violence victimization rate continued to rise from 1.1 percent in 2021 to 1.7 percent in 2022, 1.9 percent in 2023 and 2.1 percent in 2024.

By school, the victimization rate for elementary school students recorded the highest of 5.0 percent in 2025, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

The rate for middle school students increased 0.5 percentage points to 2.1 percent, while the rate for high schoolers gained 0.2 percentage points to 0.7 percent.

By type, verbal abuse accounted for the highest percentage of 39.0 percent in 2025, trailed by group bullying with 16.4 percent, physical violence with 14.6 percent, and cyber-bullying with 7.8 percent.

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The figures for verbal abuse and physical violence shrank by 0.4 percentage points and 0.9 percentage points each compared to the previous year, while the readings for group bullying and cyber-bullying rose 0.9 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, respectively.