How many South Korean inmates received early parole before serving 60 percent of their sentences in 2026?

A total of 634 inmates who had served less than 60 percent of their full sentences were granted early parole during the January-August period. The figure was about 3.7 times the annual total of 172 in 2025.

Why is South Korea expanding early parole for inmates?

The Justice Ministry is expanding early parole to reduce overcrowding at correctional facilities, which were operating at 126.2 percent of capacity at the end of August. The policy particularly targets elderly and sick inmates assessed as having a low risk of reoffending.

Number of inmates granted early parole rises on prison overcrowding: lawmaker

Q: What safeguards did Rep. Joo Jin-woo propose over concerns about early parole?

Joo called for preventive measures to protect the public, including completely suspending early parole for inmates who committed serious crimes and strengthening the management of electronic anklets. He said public safety should be prioritized amid concerns about reoffending.

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Summary

634 inmates were granted parole before serving 60 percent of their sentences in January-August, amid prison overcrowding in South Korea. Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party cited justice ministry data showing the figure was about 3.7 times the 2025 annual total of 172. Correctional facilities operated at 126.2 percent of capacity at the end of August. The Justice Ministry has expanded early parole for elderly and sick inmates considered unlikely to reoffend.

Key Facts

The number of inmates released before completing 60 percent of their sentences remained below 40 annually from 2022 through 2024 before increasing sharply in 2025.
Correctional facilities were operating at 126.2 percent of capacity at the end of August, up from 122.1 percent in 2025.
The Justice Ministry said it plans to increase early paroles by 30 percent from the previous year.
Rep. Joo Jin-woo called for a complete suspension of early parole for inmates convicted of serious crimes and stronger management of electronic anklets.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 18, 2026 11:16 am KST

This undated file photo shows a correctional facility in Anyang, south of Seoul. Yonhap

The number of inmates released on parole before serving 60 percent of their full sentence has increased due to prison overcrowding, a lawmaker said Sunday.

A total of 634 inmates who had served less than 60 percent of their full sentence were granted early parole in the January-August period, Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the main opposition People Power Party said, citing justice ministry data.

The figure is around 3.7-fold bigger than the annual total of 172 in 2025, according to the lawmaker.

The number of inmates who were released before fulfilling 60 percent of their sentence remained below 40 between 2022 and 2024 but sharply jumped last year.

The increase was attributed to overcrowding at prisons across the country. As of the end of August, correctional facilities were operating at 126.2 percent of their capacity, compared with 122.1 percent in 2025, the data showed, according to Joo.

To lower the rate, the justice ministry has been expanding early paroles for elderly and sick inmates who were deemed to have a low risk of reoffense.

The ministry has said it plans to increase the number of early paroles by 30 percent on-year.

Joo called for preventive measures to protect the public from the possibility of additional crimes.

"The government is shifting the responsibility of handling the risk of reoffense to the public due to overcrowding at correctional facilities," he said. "Public safety should be prioritized through measures, such as a complete suspension of early parole for inmates who committed serious crimes and strengthening management of electric anklets."

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