Residents look at Kang Ho-soon reconstructing one of his seven homicides at one of the crime scene in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, the second day of a reenactment. / Korea Times Photo by Kim Joo-sung |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
South Korea has been internationally known as a de facto ``death penalty-free state,'' with no executions conducted in the past decade. President Lee Myung-bak's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, seriously considered replacing the punishment with life in prison.
But serial killer Kang ho-soon, horrifying people by showing how brutal human nature can be, has rekindled debate over whether the abolition of capital punishment is appropriate.
Conservative legislators and civic groups side with the lethal punishment for the sake of the security of society and the prevention of similar crimes, while anti-capital punishment activists, mostly from religious groups, refute the allegation, saying humans have no right to determine the fate of others, even if they are heinous criminals.
Rep. Park Jun-seon of the conservative ruling Grand National Party ignited recent debate.
In a recent statement, Park claimed the death penalty is the ``only way'' to punish such a criminal as brutal as Kang, who has been arrested on charges of murdering at least seven women.
``I believe every South Korean citizen demands the serial killer be put to death,'' he said. ``Maintaining the death penalty would help reduce such crimes and serve as a `last resort' in keeping those gravely undermining social safety away from society permanently.''
Indeed, many legal experts forecast the 38-year-old will be sentenced to death or at least a life sentence.
According to the Ministry of Justice, a total of 58 criminals are behind bars with confirmed death sentences. But no execution has taken place since 1997, resulting in the country being recognized as a de facto ``death penalty-free state'' by Amnesty International in 2007.
``Taking past cases into consideration, Kang is most likely to receive the death penalty even though it's too early to predict,'' said a judge at the Seoul Central District Court.
Courts here have imposed the death penalty on serial killers with few exceptions.
Yoo Young-chul, who committed the nation's worst serial killing spree by killing 20 citizens, was sentenced to death in 2004. Chung Nam-kyu was also sentenced to capital punishment on charges of murdering 13 people and injuring 20 between 2004 and 2006. Five members of the ``Jijonpa'' crime group were also put to death after kidnapping and murdering five wealthy people in 1994.
The Christian Council of Korea, which represents nearly 45,000 Protestant churches here, or 81 percent of all Korean churches, estimated at 55,000 nationwide, is a rare religious group supporting the punishment.
``The holy Bible justifies the punishment,'' a council member said, without disclosing his name. ``Anti-death penalty activists cite judges' imperfection in ruling and politically-motivated abuse of the penalty as the primary reasons for its abolishment, which we should certainly overcome. But those shouldn't be reasons for the abolishment.''
The National Human Rights Commission issued an official statement in 2005, asking for the repealing of executions.
``Kang is apparently vicious and immoral, which can be blamed publicly, but not seen as a reason for him to be executed by other civilians,'' a commission official said, declining to be named
Korean Catholics and Buddhists support the abolition.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea clarified its position against capital punishment through an official statement in September 2007. The Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea, asked the administration to scrap the policy in its latest statement.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
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