151 Lifers Granted Parole in Last Decade, 95% for Violent Crimes

 
The Ministry of Justice has granted parole to 151 life sentence inmates over the past decade. Among them, 144 individuals were convicted of violent crimes, including murder and robbery. The ministry does not separately track recidivism rates for those granted parole from life sentences.
 
On October 15, Yonhap News reported, citing data submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo, that of the 151 lifers paroled from 2017 to September 2023, 144 were involved in murder-related offenses, accounting for 95% of the total. Five were convicted of robbery resulting in death, while one each was charged with attempted robbery and attempted murder.
 
The number of paroled inmates by year includes 11 in 2017, 40 in 2018, 14 in 2019, 18 in 2020, 17 in 2021, 16 in 2022, 12 in 2023, one in 2024, and nine in 2025. As of September this year, 13 inmates were paroled, all of whom had served time for murder.
 
According to Article 72 of the Criminal Act, lifers can be paroled after serving 20 years if they demonstrate good behavior and remorse. Serving 20 years is a legal requirement for parole consideration, but it does not guarantee automatic release.
 
The Ministry of Justice stated that it does not maintain separate statistics on recidivism for lifers granted parole, only tracking the overall recidivism rate for all paroled individuals. The recidivism rates for all paroled individuals were 7.3% in 2018, 6.8% in 2019, 6.2% in 2020, 5.9% in 2021, and 7.4% in 2022.
 
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice emphasized that the decision to grant parole to lifers is made after a strict review process that considers the severity of the crime, the duration of the sentence served, the inmate's behavior, the feelings of victims and their families, and the risk of reoffending. This year, among those paroled, eight were seriously ill with conditions such as cancer and dementia, and older inmates who had served long sentences were also considered for parole.