The National Police Agency announced Wednesday that cyber crimes have increased 80 percent since 2001, reporting 60,068 cases. The number of arrests have also soared 85 percent from 22,693 in 2001 to 41,900 last year.

Reported cases of invasion of privacy had a 125-percent increase, rating the highest jump. Cases of online communication and game fraud rated second with a 120-percent increase.

Online communication and game fraud cases made up 51 percent of all cyber crimes with 31,109 cases. Some 14,159 cases were reported for hacking and virus infringement, 3,155 for libel and sexual harassment, 2,496 for invasion of privacy, 1,889 for distribution of illegal software, and 1,115 for illegal websites.

Gyeonggi Province had the most cyber crimes reported, with Seoul and Gyeongnam Province following.

The NPA stated that cyber crimes have increased widely in Seoul and other metropolitan areas, where access to the Internet is easier. The agency added that it is developing various investigation methods in preparation for the rapid increase in crimes related to online games by the younger generation.