South Korea: researcher who interviewed 42 death row inmates urges abolition

South Korea has not carried out an execution since Dec. 30, 1997, but 56 people remain on death row – 52 in Justice Ministry facilities and four in military prisons. Kim Dae-keun, a research fellow at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, has interviewed 42 of them, The Korea Times reported for World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Kim found that most inmates no longer believe executions will resume; disciplinary cases have dropped, and many are studying for exams or saving money for their families. Fear returns, however, when a more conservative government takes office, and many feared execution during the 2024 martial law declaration. About four in five came from difficult family backgrounds.

Kim concludes that the death penalty has little deterrent effect: "When a brutal crime occurs and the public grows fearful, executing or appearing ready to execute someone has no effect on preventing crime." He believes executions will likely remain impossible because of international treaties and ties with European countries that have abolished capital punishment. Conservative governments are often more favourable to the death penalty, the report notes; it has not been formally abolished in South Korea.