North Korea's Execution Rate Soars Amid Pandemic Crackdown on Foreign Culture

A Seoul-based NGO has uncovered a dramatic increase in executions in North Korea during the Covid-19 pandemic, with at least 153 people executed or sentenced to death from 2020 to 2024. This marks a stark rise compared to just 44 executions in the five years prior.

The surge is largely attributed to the regime's intensified crackdown on foreign cultural influences such as South Korean dramas and pop music, which it views as threats to its ideological control. The findings highlight the regime's tightening grip on society amid ongoing political consolidation.

Execution Trends: From Decline to Dramatic Surge

Executions in North Korea had been declining between 2015 and 2019, following international pressure after a landmark UN inquiry into human rights abuses. However, this trend reversed sharply in 2020 when the country sealed its borders due to the pandemic.

The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) documented 54 executions in 2020 and 45 in 2021, compared to an average of just five per year in the preceding four years. Overall, 358 executions were recorded between 2011 and 2024.

Targeting Foreign Culture: K-pop and K-dramas Under Fire

The most common offenses leading to executions involved religion, superstition, and consumption of foreign cultural content, particularly South Korean media. The regime bans K-pop and K-dramas, fearing their influence undermines state ideology.

"As the regime pursues a 4th hereditary succession of power, there is a high risk of increased executions to strengthen cultural and ideological control and maintain political dominance."—Transitional Justice Working Group

In 2024, rare footage surfaced showing two teenagers sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas, underscoring the regime's harsh stance on cultural infiltration.

Methods and Locations of Executions

More than 70% of executions were public, primarily carried out by shooting. TJWG identified 46 execution sites across North Korea used during Kim Jong-un's rule, based on testimonies from over 250 defectors.

What Lies Ahead: The Future of Human Rights in North Korea

With the regime focused on consolidating power through a fourth hereditary succession, experts warn that executions may continue to rise as a tool to suppress dissent and control cultural influence.

The TJWG continues to monitor and report on these human rights violations, calling for increased international attention to the escalating use of the death penalty in North Korea.