By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
In a five to four decision, Thursday, the Constitutional Court upheld the retention of the death penalty in Korea.
The ruling was closer than the 7-2 verdict given 14 years ago, but came amid a strong surge of support for the elimination of capital punishment.
"Capital punishment cannot be seen as a measure that profoundly infringes upon the dignity of human life," the court said.
The ruling has offered a meaningful snapshot of a society that puts greater than ever value on human life, particularly those on death row.
"The death penalty is a legal punishment that can deter crime," Lee Kang-kook, president of the court, said. "Society needs to change more before it is scrapped."
Lee said the punishment was still helpful in protecting innocent citizens and significant public interest.
But the chief justice cautioned that the sentence should only be applied in exceptional cases and that extra caution was needed to prevent any misuse of the punishment.
The four dissenting justices described human life as a value that cannot be infringed upon by any means.
Justice Kim Jong-dae in the minority group suggested the introduction of life sentences with no chance of parole instead of capital punishment.
Justice Min Hyeong-ki added it was just a matter of time before it is abolished, calling on the government and the National Assembly to study alternatives.
The ruling came after a request was filed by a 72-year-old fisherman who was sentenced to death for the premeditated murder of four tourists in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, in 2007.
The man, whose case is now pending at an appellate court, filed a petition with the court in 2008, calling capital punishment a measure brazenly denying dignity and the value of human life.
The death penalty was once abused by military dictatorships to remove political foes. 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 since February 1998 when President Kim Dae-jung - who was once sentenced to death himself in 1980 but later pardoned - took office.
In 2007, Amnesty International categorized South Korea as having "virtually abolished capital punishment," as it had not carried out an execution 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 58 inmates on death row.
According to Amnesty International, 95 countries have banned the death penalty, while 58 nations - including China and the United States - continue to use it. Other countries only allow such a sentence in extraordinary cases, such as crimes under military law, or have not executed anyone for at least 10 years, it said.