Police took a record 18,160 juveniles into custody at karaoke parlors nationwide last year for illicit behavior such as smoking, extortion and staying out past their bedtime.
The National Police Agency said Thursday in a report that it is trying to prevent juvenile delinquency by helping the karaoke industry association enforce its own guidelines, such as not allowing people under 18 to be in karaoke parlors after 10 p.m.
It is the first time for the agency to make the statistics public since it began compiling such figures in 1993.