South Korea holds 52 death row inmates, average age 58.7; executions halted since 1997
In short
South Korea's Justice Ministry said on Oct. 6 that 52 people with confirmed death sentences are in custody, with an average age of 58.7 and 32.7% aged 60 or older. No execution has been carried out since Dec. 30, 1997, and the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on a third challenge to capital punishment filed in 2019. Seoul Economic Daily, citing a survey of 1,000 people, reported that 52.9% of respondents said the death penalty should be kept and carried out when necessary.
Read the full story 3 min read
South Korea is holding 52 people under confirmed death sentences, with an average age of 58.7, the Justice Ministry said on Oct. 6, four days before the World Day Against the Death Penalty. Seventeen of them, or 32.7%, are aged 60 or older — 10 in their 60s and seven in their 70s — while 29 are in their 50s, five in their 40s and one in his 30s; none are in their 20s. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Yoo Young-chul, who killed 20 people, and Kang Ho-soon, who killed 10, are being held without execution at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. Some inmates have died in custody: Oh Jong-geun, convicted in the Boseong fishermen serial murder case, died of illness at 87 in 2024, and Lee Woo-cheol, convicted of killing a gang member and his partner, died of cancer at Gwangju Prison in March this year. Won Eon-sik (69), convicted of setting fire to a religious facility in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in 1992 and killing 15 people, has been held for 35 years as the country's longest-serving death row inmate. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
No execution has been carried out since Dec. 30, 1997, when 23 people including members of the Jijonpa gang were put to death, the reports said. Amnesty International has classified South Korea as an abolitionist state in practice since 2007. The most recent confirmed death sentence was for Lim Do-bin, a former sergeant who shot and killed five people at an Army 22nd Division guard post in Goseong, Gangwon Province, in 2014. Yonhap noted that soldiers are executed by firing squad under military law, unlike civilians, who are hanged. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
On Sept. 30, Gwangju District Court's criminal division 13 sentenced Jang Yun-gi to life imprisonment for kidnapping and murdering high school student Lee Chae-won for sexual purposes, after prosecutors sought the death penalty. The court said life imprisonment matched the proportional balance with prior cases in which death sentences have long been avoided, and that the sentence was not leniency. Seoul Economic Daily reported that the victim's family had staged a one-person protest demanding a death sentence before the ruling, that about 100,000 people signed a petition urging severe punishment, and that the family wept in court and called for life imprisonment without parole after the sentence was handed down. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
The Constitutional Court has not concluded a third petition against the death penalty, filed in 2019 by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, which argues that human life cannot be treated carelessly even when an execution is ordered by law and that research has repeatedly found capital punishment does not decisively deter crime. Yonhap described the case as the eighth year without a conclusion. The court upheld the system in 1996 by 7-2 and in 2010 by 5-4; striking it down requires at least six justices. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Debate over introducing life imprisonment without parole as an alternative continues. Under Article 72 of the Criminal Act, a life prisoner becomes eligible for parole review after serving at least 20 years. The Justice Ministry proposed a bill to create life without parole in 2023, but it was discarded without passing the National Assembly. Yonhap noted counterarguments that removing parole eliminates the possibility of rehabilitation and may infringe basic rights. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Public opinion remains divided. Seoul Economic Daily, citing Hankyoreh reporting on a survey for Amnesty International's Korean branch conducted by Korea Research Center in September among 1,000 people, said 52.9% of respondents wanted the death penalty kept and carried out when necessary, 34.3% wanted it kept but not carried out, and 8.5% wanted it abolished. The most commonly cited factor in deciding the issue was the need to punish heinous crimes, at 26.6%, while the tasks respondents said should be addressed first if the death penalty were abolished were measures to prevent heinous crimes and ensure public safety, at 18.3%, and an alternative punishment such as life without parole, at 16.9%. [ 4 ]
Why it matters
The figures describe a system that continues to hand down and uphold death sentences without carrying them out, leaving an ageing prison population and an unresolved legal question. The Constitutional Court's pending ruling could decide the future of capital punishment, while debate continues over introducing life imprisonment without parole as an alternative.
Key facts
- Fifty-two people with confirmed death sentences are held in South Korean correctional facilities, with an average age of 58.7, according to the Justice Ministry. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Inmates aged 60 or older make up 32.7% of the total — 10 in their 60s and seven in their 70s; 29 are in their 50s, five in their 40s and one in his 30s, with none in their 20s. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Yoo Young-chul, who killed 20 people, and Kang Ho-soon, who killed 10, are held without execution at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- South Korea has not carried out an execution since Dec. 30, 1997, when 23 people including members of the Jijonpa gang were put to death; Amnesty International has classified the country as an abolitionist state in practice since 2007. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Won Eon-sik (69), convicted of setting fire to a religious facility in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in 1992 and killing 15 people, has been held for 35 years as the country's longest-serving death row inmate. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- On Sept. 30 a first-instance court sentenced Jang Yun-gi to life imprisonment for kidnapping and murdering high school student Lee Chae-won for sexual purposes; prosecutors had sought the death penalty. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Constitutional Court upheld the death penalty in 1996 by 7-2 and in 2010 by 5-4, and has not concluded the petition filed in 2019; striking the system down requires at least six justices. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Justice Ministry proposed a bill creating life imprisonment without parole in 2023, but it was discarded without passing the National Assembly. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Fifty-two people with confirmed death sentences are in custody, with an average age of 58.7, the Justice Ministry said on Oct. 6, four days before the World Day Against the Death Penalty. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- 32.7% of the death row population is aged 60 or older, with 29 inmates in their 50s, five in their 40s and one in his 30s, and none in their 20s. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Executions have been suspended since Dec. 30, 1997, when 23 people were executed. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Yoo Young-chul and Kang Ho-soon remain imprisoned without execution at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Amnesty International has classified South Korea as an abolitionist state in practice since 2007. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Won Eon-sik (69), convicted over a 1992 fire at a religious facility in Wonju, Gangwon Province, that killed 15 people, has been held for 35 years. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The most recent confirmed death sentence was for Lim Do-bin, a former sergeant who shot and killed five people at an Army 22nd Division guard post in Goseong, Gangwon Province, in 2014. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Some death row inmates have died in custody, including Oh Jong-geun, who died of illness at 87 in 2024, and Lee Woo-cheol, who died of cancer at Gwangju Prison in March this year. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Jang Yun-gi was sentenced to life imprisonment on Sept. 30 after prosecutors sought the death penalty. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Constitutional Court upheld the death penalty in 1996 and 2010 and has not concluded the petition filed in 2019. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Justice Ministry proposed a bill creating life imprisonment without parole in 2023, which was discarded without passing the National Assembly. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- When the Constitutional Court will rule on the third constitutional petition on the death penalty, filed in 2019. The documents say no conclusion has been reached; Yonhap describes it as the eighth year without a decision, and none gives a date.
- Whether life imprisonment without parole will be introduced as an alternative to the death penalty. The documents report only that a 2023 Justice Ministry bill failed in the National Assembly amid opposition, including from the Supreme Court.
- The public opinion figures on the death penalty: 52.9% for keeping and carrying out executions, 34.3% for keeping without carrying out, and 8.5% for abolition. These figures appear only in the Seoul Economic Daily report, which attributes them to Hankyoreh reporting on a survey conducted for Amnesty International's Korean branch by Korea Research Center in September among 1,000 people.
- The victim's family's protests and the reported 100,000-signature petition in the Jang Yun-gi case. These details appear only in the Seoul Economic Daily report and are not carried by the other documents.
- The contents of Korea Economic Daily's report on the death row figures beyond its headline. Only the outlet's headline was available; the rest of the page text contained unrelated stories, so its headline claim that about three in ten death row inmates are in their 60s cannot be checked in full.
- What Dong-A Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun reported beyond the short text available. Dong-A Ilbo was available only as a feed summary and Seoul Shinmun only as a headline; both repeat the Justice Ministry figures without additional detail.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Won Eon-sik sets fire to a religious facility in Wonju, Gangwon Province, killing 15 people; he has been held for 35 years since. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The Constitutional Court rules the death penalty constitutional by 7-2. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- South Korea carries out its last executions, putting to death 23 people including members of the Jijonpa gang. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Amnesty International classifies South Korea as an abolitionist state in practice. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The Constitutional Court again upholds the death penalty, by 5-4. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Lim Do-bin, then a sergeant, shoots and kills five people at an Army 22nd Division guard post in Goseong, Gangwon Province, in what the reports describe as the most recent confirmed death sentence. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- A third constitutional petition against the death penalty, filed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, is accepted by the Constitutional Court. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Oh Jong-geun, convicted in the Boseong fishermen serial murder case, dies of illness at 87. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Lee Woo-cheol, convicted of killing a gang member and his partner, dies of cancer at Gwangju Prison. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- A first-instance court sentences Jang Yun-gi to life imprisonment, not the death penalty prosecutors sought, in the kidnapping and murder of high school student Lee Chae-won. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report on the Justice Ministry figures. [ 1 ]
- Korea Economic Daily and Maeil Business publish their reports on the death row figures. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily publishes its report, including the public opinion survey. [ 4 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo publishes its summary of the death row figures. [ 5 ]
- Seoul Shinmun publishes a headline report on the figures and the suspended executions. [ 6 ]