By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Dae-jung Wednesday called for the abolishment of the death penalty, saying that capital punishment has failed to curb rising crime rates.
The 2000 Nobel Peace laureate made the call at an event organized by several local human rights watchdogs in Seoul.
The event was designed to commemorate the World Day against the death penalty, which falls on Oct. 10, and to announce Korea as a de facto abolitionist country.
``Executions took away people's lives only in vain, without making any improvement to the stability and peace of society,'' Kim said. ``The abolishment of the death penalty may refine both the atmosphere of society and minds of criminals.''
Kim has been active in the campaign against capital punishment. He contributed an article calling for the abolishment of the death penalty to international watchdog Amnesty International last year.
The Kim Dae-jung government did not carry out any executions during its five-year term and in some cases, sentences were downgraded to life imprisonment while he was in office.
Local human rights activists said in a statement that the death penalty should be abolished as it attributes all the responsibilities of crimes and its sources to an individual who committed the crime, failing to consider the external social factors that could affect the person involved in the criminal activity.
They said that there is no way to right the wrong once the execution has been carried out and it goes against democratic principles.
They stressed that there are many cases indicating that dictators and political leaders have misused the death penalty to oppress their political opponents or political dissidents.
They said no one can actually guarantee if a prosecutor or judge passed the right judgment and enforcing the death penalty does not result in the reduction of crime.
A growing number of civic groups and figures in the political arena have joined the campaign to end capital punishment in the country. A bill against the death penalty is awaiting approval at the National Assembly.