Ministry of Justice to Push for Abolishing the 30-Year Statute of Limitations on Death Penalty Execution

The Ministry of Justice announced on the 12th that it will issue a legislative notice on the 13th for an amendment to the Criminal Act that abolishes the 30-year statute of limitations for the execution of the death penalty.

Ministry of Justice [Photo by Yonhap News]

Currently, our law stipulates that if the death sentence is not carried out within 30 years after the sentence is finalized, the statute of limitations is completed, and the execution is exempted. The amendment proposed by the Ministry of Justice focuses on excluding the death penalty from this provision. The Ministry of Justice pointed out that although the statute of limitations for crimes punishable by death, such as murder, was abolished for the prosecution period of 15 years, the statute of limitations for the execution of the death penalty after the sentence is finalized remains, causing an imbalance. Additionally, there is no explicit regulation regarding whether the statute of limitations for the death penalty continues during the imprisonment period until the execution of the death penalty, leading to interpretative controversies in the legal community.

The Ministry of Justice also expedited the amendment to reduce confusion that may arise when Won, who is currently the longest-serving death row inmate, reaches the end of his 30-year imprisonment period in November. Won was sentenced to death for arson and homicide on November 23, 1993, and has been imprisoned for 29 years and 5 months. According to current law, Won’s execution would be exempted in November.

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