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Over the past 10 years, around 150 inmates serving life sentences have been granted parole, data showed.
Nine out of 10 were violent criminals who committed murder, and criticism has been raised that the Ministry of Justice does not even manage their recidivism status, heightening public anxiety over potential crimes.
According to data secured from the Ministry of Justice by Representative Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, 151 inmates serving life sentences were granted parole from 2017 to September of this year.
Categorized by crime type, violent criminals who committed murder, robbery-murder, parricide, and rape-murder accounted for 144 individuals, or 95 percent of the total.
There were five cases of robbery resulting in death, and one case each of attempted robbery-murder and attempted murder.
By year, there were 11 in 2017, 40 in 2018, 14 in 2019, 18 in 2020, 17 in 2021, 16 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 9 in 2025.
As of September this year, 13 inmates have been granted parole.
All of them were individuals who had committed murder.
According to Article 72 of the Criminal Act, even if sentenced to life imprisonment, parole is possible under certain conditions after serving 20 years or more.
Although a significant number of inmates who committed violent crimes were granted parole, the Ministry of Justice reportedly does not separately manage their recidivism status.
An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "There are no separate figures for the post-parole recidivism status of life-sentence inmates; we only compile the re-imprisonment rate for parolees overall."
According to the re-imprisonment rates of parolees submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Representative Seo's office, the rates were 7.3 percent in 2018, 6.8 percent in 2019, 6.2 percent in 2020, 5.9 percent in 2021, and 7.4 percent in 2022.
Meanwhile, amid a succession of violent crimes such as the recent murder of a person surnamed Chang and abduction of a wife in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and the random knife rampage in Incheon, voices calling for the introduction of a practical life sentence without parole have also emerged.
Recently, the 13th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court, which sentenced high school girl murderer Jang Yoon-ki to life imprisonment, reignited the debate over introducing life imprisonment without parole by stating, "Ensuring that the defendant is never granted parole while alive and thoroughly enforcing the life sentence is the only way to provide a modicum of comfort to the victims and their bereaved families while preventing the recurrence of similar crimes."
Prior to this, when sentencing Kim Tae-hyun, who was charged with murdering three mother-and-daughter family members in Nowon-gu, Seoul, in 2021, the second-instance court stated that "parole must not be allowed," and the first-instance court that sentenced Choi Won-jong to life imprisonment for a knife rampage that left 14 casualties in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, in 2023 also previously suggested ways to restrict parole.
The Ministry of Justice released an explanatory press release today stating that parole for life-sentenced inmates is granted restrictively after strict reviews that comprehensively consider the gravity of the crime, the progress of sentence execution, prison behavior, the sentiments of victims and bereaved families, and the risk of recidivism.
It added that regarding the life-sentence inmates paroled this year, the reviews were conducted prudently, focusing on inmates deemed to have a low risk of recidivism, such as those with severe illnesses like cancer and dementia (8 individuals) and elderly individuals who had served long terms (average age of 71).
It stated, "We gravely recognize public concerns regarding the parole of life-sentenced inmates," adding, "We will meticulously examine crime details, court opinions, sentencing reasons, social impact, and the potential for recidivism to conduct prudent reviews and further strengthen post-management for parolees."
Representative Seo said, "Violent crimes must be met with severe punishment corresponding to them," adding, "There is a need to permanently isolate criminals whose offenses are atrocious and who show little possibility of rehabilitation and reform from society."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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