{
  "id": 15329580,
  "title": "Number of inmates granted early parole rises on prison overcrowding: lawmaker",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/number-of-inmates-granted-early-parole-rises-on-prison-overcrowding-15329580",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T02:17:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20261018/number-of-inmates-granted-early-parole-rises-on-prison-overcrowding-lawmaker"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A lawmaker has noted a significant rise in the number of inmates granted early parole due to prison overcrowding, according to a recent report. According to Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party, 634 inmates who had served less than 60% of their full sentence were released on early parole between January and August, marking a dramatic increase of around three and a half times compared to the previous year's 172 inmates. This surge in early parole cases came to light as prison capacities across the country reached 126.2% of their designed capacities by the end of August, up from 122.1% in 2025. Prior to 2025, the number of inmates released before completing 60% of their sentence remained under 40 per year from 2022 to 2024. The lawmaker pointed out that the justice ministry has been implementing policies to reduce overcrowding by granting early paroles to elderly and sick inmates deemed to pose a low risk of reoffending. Plans are in place to further increase the number of these early paroles.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Number of inmates granted early parole rises on prison overcrowding: lawmaker",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/number-of-inmates-granted-early-parole-rises-on-prison-overcrowding",
        "published": "2026-10-18T02:04:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Number of inmates granted early parole rises on prison overcrowding: lawmaker",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/number-of-inmates-granted-early-parole-rises-on-prison-overcrowding-15333107",
        "published": "2026-10-18T02:37:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}