The debate over South Korea's death penalty has reignited after Jang Yun-gi, 23, received life imprisonment instead of a death sentence for the murder of a high school girl. During nearly three decades without an execution in South Korea, the number of inmates awaiting execution has reached 52, with an average age of 58.7.
52 Inmates on Death Row, Average Age 58.7, Executions Halted for 30 Years
According to the Ministry of Justice on the 6th, four days before the World Day Against the Death Penalty on the 10th, 52 inmates awaiting execution are currently held in correctional facilities nationwide.
Their average age is 58.7. Inmates in their 50s number 29, the largest group, followed by 10 in their 60s and seven in their 70s, meaning 32.7% of the total are 60 or older. Five are in their 40s and one is in their 30s, with none in their 20s.
Yoo Young-chul, who killed 20 people, and Kang Ho-sun, who killed 10, are both held at the Seoul Detention Center with their death sentences finalized. As death row inmates age, some are dying in correctional facilities before their sentences are carried out. In 2024, Oh Jong-geun of the Boseong fisherman serial murder case died at 87, and in March this year, Lee Woo-cheol of the Anyang AP gang died while being treated for cancer.
The longest-serving death row inmate is Won Eon-sik, 69, who set fire to a religious facility in Wonju, Gangwon State, in 1992, killing 15 people. He has been incarcerated for 35 years. The most recent person to receive a finalized death sentence is Lim Do-bin, then a sergeant, who shot and killed five people at an Army 22nd Division guard post in Goseong County, Gangwon State, in 2014.
South Korea last carried out executions on Dec. 30, 1997, when 23 people including members of the Jijonpa crime ring were put to death, and has not executed anyone for about 30 years since. Amnesty International has classified South Korea as abolitionist in practice since 2007.
Bereaved Family Pleads for Maximum Penalty as Jang Receives Life Instead of Death
The death penalty debate drew renewed attention through the recent Jang Yun-gi case. On the 30th of last month, the Gwangju District Court's 13th criminal division, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Jeong-ho, sentenced Jang to life imprisonment on charges including killing high school student Lee Chae-won while attempting to abduct her for sexual assault. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.
The court cited as sentencing grounds that South Korea has not carried out executions since 1997 and is therefore classified internationally as abolitionist in practice, as well as consistency with similar cases in which courts have long refrained from imposing death sentences. The court nonetheless agreed on the need to permanently isolate Jang from society and stressed that life imprisonment does not amount to leniency.
The bereaved family staged one-person protests demanding the death penalty even before the trial, and a petition bearing the signatures of some 100,000 citizens calling for severe punishment was submitted to the court. When the life sentence was handed down, the family wept in the courtroom and called for the introduction of life imprisonment without parole.
Under the current criminal code, inmates serving life sentences can become eligible for parole review after serving 20 years or more. This has prompted calls to introduce life imprisonment without parole as an alternative to the death penalty, permanently removing violent offenders from society.
The Ministry of Justice pushed for a related criminal code amendment in 2023, but it failed to clear the National Assembly and was scrapped. Opponents counter that such a sentence would categorically eliminate any possibility of rehabilitation and could excessively restrict basic rights.
52.9% of Public Say Execute When Necessary, Constitutional Court Silent for 8 Years
Although actual executions have been suspended for nearly 30 years, surveys show public opinion leans toward retaining the death penalty.
According to an Amnesty International Korea public perception survey cited by the Hankyoreh on the 5th, 52.9% of 1,000 respondents said the death penalty should be retained and actually carried out when necessary.
Another 34.3% said the death penalty should remain on the books but not be carried out, as is the case now. Only 8.5% said it should be fully abolished in law. The findings are part of a survey on awareness of six human rights issues that Amnesty International Korea conducted through Korea Research Center in September among 1,000 citizens.
Asked what they consider most important in weighing whether to keep or abolish the death penalty, 26.6% cited the need to punish violent crime, the most common answer. Asked what should be addressed first if the death penalty were abolished, 18.3% pointed to measures to prevent violent crime and ensure public safety, followed by 16.9% who cited alternative punishments such as life imprisonment without parole.
The fate of the death penalty also awaits a ruling at the Constitutional Court. The court accepted a third constitutional challenge in 2019 but has not issued a decision for eight years. It previously upheld the death penalty 7-2 in 1996 and 5-4 in 2010. At least six of the nine justices must agree for the death penalty to be struck down as unconstitutional.
