Although crimes committed against elementary school children fell overall last year, the number of murder and attempted murder cases in which elementary school pupils were victimized rose by one to 27 in 2005, compared with the previous year, the National Policy Agency said Friday.

The number of such cases targeting people under age 20 dropped 16.6 percent to 151.

The number of murder or attempted murder cases in which preschool children were victims was 78, down from 85, while the number of cases involving junior high school students plunged from 10 to six.

The number of cases in which elementary school pupils were victims of all types of crime totaled 24,513, down 8.2 percent, the agency said.

The total included 9,321 cases of assaults in parking lots, 5,038 assaults on streets and 2,996 assaults in condominium units.