(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Seung-yeon and Choi Yun-seon = It was calculated that about 150 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in the past 10 years have received parole.
Nine out of 10 people were violent criminals who committed murder, but it is pointed out that the Ministry of Justice does not even manage their recidivism status, increasing anxiety about crime damage.
According to data obtained from the Ministry of Justice by the office of Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, on the 15th, from 2017 to September of this year, 151 life imprisonment prisoners were granted parole.
By crime type, there were 144 inmates who committed violent crimes such as murder, robbery, murder, parricide, and rape and murder, or 95% of the total.
There were 5 people killed by robbery, and 1 person each for attempted robbery and murder.
By year, there were 11 people 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 people were granted parole. These were all people who had committed murder.
According to Article 72 of the Criminal Act, even if a person is sentenced to life imprisonment, parole is possible under certain conditions if he or she serves more than 20 years.
Although many inmates who committed violent crimes were granted parole, the Ministry of Justice did not appear to separately manage their recidivism status.
An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "There is no separate status of recidivism after parole for life-term inmates, and only the re-incarceration rate of all parolees is being counted."
Looking at the parolee reinstatement rate submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Rep. Seo's office, it is 7.3% in 2018, 6.8% in 2019, 6.2% in 2020, 5.9% in 2021, and 7.4% in 2022.
Meanwhile, the recent murder of the mother-in-law and kidnapping of the wife in Songpa-gu, Seoul. As violent crimes, such as the indiscriminate stabbing incident in Incheon, continue to occur, there are voices calling for the introduction of a practical life sentence without parole.
The 13th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court, which recently sentenced 'high school girl murderer' Jang Yoon-gi to life imprisonment, reignited the debate on introducing life imprisonment without parole by saying, "The only way to provide some comfort to the victims and their bereaved families and to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes is to never allow parole while the defendant is alive and to strictly enforce the life sentence."
Prior to this, the second trial court sentenced Kim Tae-hyun, who is accused of murdering three mothers and daughters in Nowon-gu, Seoul in 2021, to life imprisonment and said, "Parole should not be allowed." The first trial court, which sentenced Choi Won-jong to life imprisonment for causing 14 casualties in a knife rampage in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do in 2023, also suggested ways to limit parole.
The Ministry of Justice issued a press release on this day and stated that parole for life-long prisoners is granted on a limited basis after strict review, taking comprehensive consideration of the seriousness of the crime, the progress of the sentence, attitude toward the prisoner, the emotions of the victim and the bereaved family, and the risk of recidivism.
He added that in the case of inmates paroled this year, careful screening was conducted focusing on inmates judged to be at low risk of reoffending, such as those with serious illnesses such as cancer and dementia (8 people) and elderly people who served long sentences (average age 71 years old).
At the same time, he said, "We are seriously aware of public concerns about parole for life-term inmates," and added, "We will carefully review the crime, court opinion, reason for sentencing, impact on society, possibility of recidivism, etc., and further strengthen follow-up management for parolees."
Rep. Seo said, “There must be a correspondingly severe punishment for violent crimes,” and “Criminals whose crimes are heinous and for whom it is difficult to find the possibility of reform or improvement need to be permanently isolated from society.”
