Decision to Abolish Death Penalty Earns International Praise... What About South Korea After 28 Years of Non-Execution?

1. First Abolition of the Death Penalty in Middle Eastern Arab History

The Lebanese Parliament has passed a bill to abolish the death penalty, a first among Arab nations in the Middle East. The bill replaces capital punishment with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor. Hezbollah was the sole party to vote against it.

With this vote, Lebanon became the 114th country in the world to fully abolish the death penalty. Among the 22 member states of the Arab League, it is the second after Djibouti and the first in the mainland Middle East.

On August 11 local time, a majority of the 128-seat Lebanese Parliament voted in favor of the death penalty abolition bill. Justice Minister Adel Nassar attended parliament and called it a "historic measure."

Justice Minister Nassar emphasized that "the very existence of the death penalty has served as a legal obstacle to extraditing fugitives back to the country," and that this abolition removes roadblocks to international judicial cooperation and extradition procedures.

2. Legal Fruition After 22 Years and Sentencing Standards

Lebanon has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since January 2004. However, courts continued to issue death sentences, leaving an estimated 78 to 85 inmates on death row, according to human rights organizations. With the passage of this law, sentences for existing death row inmates will all be commuted to life imprisonment.

The bill was introduced in October 2025. Jointly proposed by seven lawmakers from different political parties, it was passed this week following amendments. Under the amended version, crimes committed before the law takes effect will be punished by life imprisonment, while crimes committed after its enforcement will carry life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor.

However, it remains unclear how life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor will actually be executed. Hard labor itself already exists under Lebanese law, but due to financial difficulties and prison overcrowding, it has rarely been enforced in recent years.

The bill now awaits cabinet approval and the signature of President Joseph Aoun. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a former judge and president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), supports the measure.

3. Messages of Welcome from the International Community

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called it a "strong and principled decision made by a country experiencing attacks and loss," urging other Middle Eastern nations to follow suit. The European Union (EU) also welcomed the move, stating it "sets a powerful example for countries in the Middle East and beyond."

Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International, assessed that "a precarious moratorium lasting over two decades has been transformed into legal protection for the right to life." Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), remarked that it is "a clear break from a cruel punishment that should never have been imposed."

Ogarit Younan, co-founder of the Lebanese Association for Civil Rights, has led the campaign to abolish the death penalty for nearly 30 years. "Crimes cannot be solved with crimes, and violence cannot be ended with violence. Even during a war where people die every day, we can fight for human rights and win. We can serve as a model for others."

Under Lebanese law, the death penalty applied to aggravated murder, certain terror-related offenses resulting in death, treason, espionage, and crimes threatening national security. Attempts to abolish it were also made in 2004 and 2008, but both failed.

4. Hezbollah's Opposition and Controversy Over General Amnesty Bill

Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc voted against the measure.

Hezbollah explained that it voted no due to concerns over concurrent application with a "general amnesty bill" currently under parliamentary discussion. The group argued that if sentences are commuted from death to life imprisonment and then further reduced under an amnesty law, the sentences of terrorists or criminals who attacked its members would be excessively reduced, creating an unfair imbalance.

Lebanon's various religious institutions have also remained silent, as the death penalty is still considered legal in some religious courts.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Parliament is also discussing a general amnesty bill. It would be the largest since the end of the civil war in 1990, potentially reducing sentences for or releasing militants and drug traffickers. Families who lost loved ones to attacks by Islamic militant groups have opposed the amnesty bill, protesting that perpetrators would receive commuted sentences instead of the death penalty.

5. Current State of the Death Penalty in the Middle East

The death penalty is still widely carried out in the Middle East. According to Amnesty International, over 2,000 executions took place in Iran and more than 350 in Saudi Arabia last year.

Jordan resumed executions in June this year for the first time in nine years, while Israel passed a law allowing public trials and the death penalty for those involved in the Hamas-led attacks and hostage incidents of October 2023.

Lebanon has consistently voted in favor of UN resolutions for a moratorium on executions. Having chosen human rights amid war and chaos, will other Middle Eastern countries join this movement?

6. Where Does South Korea Stand?

Lebanon's decision holds implications for South Korea as well. While South Korea retains the death penalty in law, it has not carried out an execution for 28 years since 23 death row inmates were executed on December 30, 1997. Since 2007, South Korea has maintained the status of an "abolitionist in practice" nation, designated by Amnesty International for countries that have not executed anyone for over 10 years. Currently, 56 inmates remain on death row with finalized sentences.

The Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty constitutional in both 1996 and 2010. Notably, in its 1996 ruling, the court drew attention by adding the caveat that "when public legal sentiment recognizes that the abolition of the death penalty is necessary, capital punishment should be abolished immediately." A third constitutional challenge (2019Hun-Ba59) is currently pending before the Constitutional Court.

However, public opinion is moving in the opposite direction. In Gallup Korea polls, support for retaining the death penalty rose from 64.8% in 2005 to 69% in 2022, with public sentiment tending to harden whenever heinous crimes occur. The debate reignited recently when a special prosecutor sought the death penalty in a trial related to the December 3 martial law declaration. Multiple bills to abolish the death penalty have been introduced in the National Assembly since the 15th National Assembly, but all expired automatically at the end of each legislative term. Similar to the "life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor" adopted by Lebanon, discussions on introducing "life imprisonment without parole" as an alternative to abolishing the death penalty have continuously surfaced in South Korea.


Deep Dive Q&A
Q1. What is the legal and political significance of Lebanon becoming the first country in the Middle East and Arab world to completely abolish the death penalty?

A. Although Lebanon had maintained a de facto moratorium on executions for 22 years since 2004, it institutionalized the protection of the right to life by writing it into law. At a time when many countries in the Middle East (such as Iran and Saudi Arabia) remain strict executioners, Lebanon is seen as setting a forward-looking precedent centered on human rights and the rule of law. In addition, abolishing the death penalty yields practical benefits, removing legal barriers to extraditing fugitives who fled to abolitionist nations such as those in Europe.

Q2. Why was Hezbollah the only group to vote against the death penalty abolition bill?

A. Rather than doctrinal opposition to the death penalty itself, Hezbollah cited the potential for double sentence reductions combined with the "general amnesty bill" being pursued concurrently. The group took issue with the possibility that if a sentence is commuted from death to life imprisonment and then subjected to further reductions under the amnesty bill, the actual prison terms served by terrorists or perpetrators who harmed Hezbollah members could be excessively shortened.

Q3. Why are doubts being raised about the effectiveness of "life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor" introduced as an alternative to the death penalty?

A. Provisions for hard labor already exist in Lebanon's legal code, but due to severe economic crisis, treasury shortfalls, and prison overcrowding since 2019, actual hard labor sentences have not been properly executed. Consequently, critics point out that unless fiscal and physical constraints in prison administration are overcome, the enforceability of alternative punishments could be weakened.

Q4. South Korea is also an abolitionist state in practice, so why has it not completely abolished the death penalty in law?

A. Analysis suggests that the National Assembly has felt burdened by legal reform because public support for retaining the death penalty remains consistently high in the upper 60% range, with public sentiment hardening whenever heinous crimes occur. The Constitutional Court also ruled the death penalty constitutional twice, in 1996 and 2010, but left room for change by adding the proviso that "capital punishment should be abolished when public legal sentiment changes." A third constitutional challenge is currently pending before the Constitutional Court.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.