Minister Hints at Resuming Death Row Executions
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam hinted at resuming executions for those convicted of ``capital crimes,’’ breaking a 13-year-old virtual moratorium on the death penalty, Tuesday.
``I am considering setting up an execution facility at this prison,’’ Lee told reporters during a visit to Cheongsong Prison, Gyeongsang Province, where serial killers, murderers and repeat rapists are imprisoned.
``The purpose of such a facility is to carry out the death sentence,’’ said Lee, whose signature determines whether death row inmates are executed.
However, the minister added that the resumption of the death penalty will be reviewed with caution, taking into consideration factors such as diplomatic relations and concerned parties nationwide.
Lee’s remarks followed the recent case involving a 13-year-old schoolgirl, identified as Lee, who was abducted, raped and murdered allegedly by convicted rapist Kim Kil-tae.
A recent poll conducted by the Youido Institute, a policy arm of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), showed 80 percent of people favored the death penalty.
A group of party stalwarts including floor leader An Sang-soo are also calling for the resumption of executions. President Lee Myung-bak is promoting a law-and-order government that is tough on serious crimes. Lee’s conservative rule came on the heels of two consecutive liberal heads of state who agreed to put capital punishment on hold.
However, the actual resumption of executions won’t be easy as human rights groups are already voicing their objections, arguing that Minister Lee’s overture runs counter to a worldwide trend phasing out execution and instead introducing life sentences with no chance of parole.
Also the poll on any immediate resumption of capital punishment is at odds with a recent 4-5 decision by the Constitutional Court to uphold the retention of capital punishment compared to a 7-2 decision made 14 years ago. This was widely seen as a reflection of a Korean society that is following the global trend to abolish the death sentence.
The penalty was once abused by military dictatorships to remove political foes ㅡ numerous civilians and politicians lost their lives in the 1960s and 70s, when iron-fisted military factions ruled the state, for participating in ``anti-government activities.’’
An unofficial moratorium was introduced on capital punishment in February 1998 when President Kim Dae-jung ㅡ who was once sentenced to death himself in 1980 but later pardoned ㅡ took office.
In 2007, Amnesty International categorized South Korea as having ``virtually abolished capital punishment,’’ as it had not carried out executions since the hanging of 23 death-row convicts in 1997.
A total of 920 people have been executed here since capital punishment was legalized in 1948. There are still 57 inmates on death row.
According to Amnesty, 95 countries have not conducted executions for over 10 years, being categorized as ``abolitionist countries.’’ Fifty-eight nations ㅡ including China, Saudi Arabia and the United States still actively enforce the death penalty.