Life Imprisonment in South Korea: Life Imprisonment Law and Practice in the Shadow of the Death Penalty

Abstract

At the centre of the debate about abolishing the death penalty in South Korea is the issue of life imprisonment as an alternative punishment. Currently, South Korea does not impose life imprisonment in a literal sense. In the penal system of South Korea, imprisonment with or without labour for an indefinite term is the penultimate punishment, after the death penalty. Those sentenced to imprisonment for an indefinite term can be released on parole after serving a period in prison. Still, few of them have been released, even when they had behaved well and repented, meeting the legal release requirements. In this chapter, we highlight the harsh reality of long-term prisoners and the limited knowledge about their situation. The constitutional court has challenged the death penalty’s constitutionality, but it has also held that the treatment of individuals detained for long periods must meet international human rights standards and recognize the human dignity of prisoners. We propose that the principle of human dignity, set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 2016, along with the Nelson Mandela Rules, should influence the decisions of the South Korean Government in contemporary debates surrounding alternatives to the death penalty. We also call for more credible information to be made available to the public.