Police lines are put around the car that a 20-something man drove onto a sidewalk before going on a stabbing rampage at a department store in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, on Aug. 3, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A rising number of South Koreans are advocating for the reinstatement of the death penalty following a series of violent crimes that have occurred in the past 30 days.
Since its last execution on Dec. 30, 1997, South Korea has not carried out any death penalties, although handing out the capital punishment is still permissible under the law.
Sixty people were serving time in prison at the end of 2020 after getting the death penalty.
However, in recent months, public sentiment has been escalating after series of stabbing rampages and the recent death of a woman who was sexually assaulted on a hiking trail in Seoul.
Most experts contend that the likelihood of resuming death sentences is minimal. Even if the death penalty is reintroduced, its impact on deterring crime is doubtful, according to many.
“The culprits behind recent crimes aren’t the type to be dissuaded from criminal acts out of fear of punishment,” said Seung Jae-hyun, a senior researcher at the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice.
“Hence, utilizing the death penalty wouldn’t be as efficacious in preventing such offenses.”
Indeed, the perpetrator in one of the recent knife attacks did not evade the crime scene.
Instead, he was observed being apprehended by the police without any resistance, underscoring his resolve to commit the offense irrespective of the consequences.
“The revival of the death penalty would only embolden criminals further,” said Kim Do-woo, a police science professor at Kyungnam University.
“Rather than refraining from criminality due to the prospect of execution, they would opt to take more lives, believing they wouldn’t face it ‘alone.’”
The Ministry of Justice, responsible for administering penalties, is contemplating the introduction of a life sentence without the possibility of parole — a middle ground between a life sentence and the death penalty.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
