The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people suffering from AIDS who engage in sexual intercourse without informing their partner should be punished.
"Hiding that one suffers from AIDS from his or her sex partner should be punished," the highest court said, rejecting a plea that such punishment violates one's constitutional right to pursue happiness.
The ruling came after a lawsuit filed by a man identified as Park, who asked the court to invalidate lower courts' convictions he was given for having sex with two transgenders, although at that time he knew he was inflicted with the disease. Park was confirmed to be an AIDS sufferer in 2002.
Under the current law, a person can receive up to three years behind bars for not informing their sexual partner of their status.
In 2007, Park was also convicted and sentenced to a one-and-a-half-year prison term for arranging for 22 transgenders to travel to Japan for prostitution, pocketing about 240 million won. He was also accused and convicted of extorting 140 million won from the prostitutes as protection money he said would go to Japanese pimps.