[2023 National Audit] Legislation Committee, Constitutional Court Audit Today... Discussion on Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Without Parole Expected

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee will conduct a national audit of the Constitutional Court on the 16th.

During the audit of the Constitutional Court, held at the National Assembly from 10 a.m. that day, questions are expected to focus on the recent sharp increase in indiscriminate violent crimes and related issues such as the death penalty and the Ministry of Justice's legislative push for a "life sentence without parole."

Constitutional Court Grand Bench, Jaedong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Last month, the Ministry of Justice transferred two death row inmates, Yoo Young-cheol and Jeong Hyeong-gu, from Daegu Prison to Seoul Detention Center. Prior to this, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon had ordered inspections of the execution facilities at Seoul Detention Center, Busan Detention Center, Daegu Prison, and Daejeon Prison, all equipped for carrying out the death penalty. The inspection results reportedly confirmed that only Seoul Detention Center is practically capable of carrying out executions.

Currently, Seoul Detention Center houses multiple death row inmates, including serial killers Kang Ho-soon and Jeong Doo-young. The recent transfer of Yoo Young-cheol and Jeong Hyeong-gu to Seoul Detention Center, following Minister Han's directive, has sparked speculation that the Ministry of Justice might be preparing to resume executions.

South Korea has not carried out any executions since December 1997, when 23 death row inmates were executed, effectively classifying the country as one that has abolished the death penalty in practice. It is known that there are currently 59 death row inmates whose executions have not been carried out.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice is pushing for the introduction of a life sentence without parole. Concerns have been raised that introducing a life sentence without parole, while the death penalty still formally exists despite not being enforced for a long time, would only increase the severity of punishment compared to the current life imprisonment.

The Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of the provisions in the Criminal Act that stipulate the death penalty. Previously, the Court ruled constitutional twice, in 1996 and 2010, on Article 41 (Types of Punishment) of the Criminal Act, which defines the death penalty as a type of punishment, and Article 250, Paragraph 1 (Murder and parricide), which stipulates the death penalty as a statutory punishment for murder. In 2010, the Court also upheld the constitutionality of Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the then (pre-amendment) Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims, which also prescribed the death penalty as a statutory punishment. This time marks the third review, with the case filed in February 2019 and under deliberation for 4 years and 8 months.

In the first decision in 1996, the constitutional opinion was overwhelmingly in favor with 7 justices supporting constitutionality and 2 dissenting. However, in 2010, the number of justices opposing constitutionality increased to 4, with 5 supporting.

Justice Mok Young-jun, who dissented in 2010, argued that "for the death penalty system to achieve its legislative purpose through a deterrent effect, it must be recognized as effective by the public," and advocated for abolishing the death penalty and introducing an "absolute life sentence."

Former Justice Mok stated, "As of the end of 2008, there were 59 death row inmates whose sentences had been confirmed but not executed (all so-called heinous criminals, and no political prisoners sentenced to death since 1989). Since the last execution on December 30, 1997, 12 years have passed without carrying out any death sentences, leading international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International to classify South Korea as a de facto abolitionist country. Although the death penalty exists in law, its long-term non-enforcement has rendered it nominal and theatrical, effectively losing its punitive efficacy."

He continued, "Under current Criminal Act and Pardon Act provisions, all criminals sentenced to life imprisonment have the possibility of release through parole, pardon, or commutation. However, to achieve the legislative purpose of maintaining the death penalty while abolishing it, there must be no possibility for highly heinous criminals to return to society under any circumstances. Therefore, unlike general life imprisonment, an absolute life sentence without parole, pardon, or commutation must be introduced."

Additionally, during the Constitutional Court audit, questions are expected regarding the rejection of the appointment consent bill for Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-yong, led by opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea, and the appointment of a successor to Constitutional Court Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok, who will retire on the 10th of next month.

Ruling party committee members are also expected to criticize the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the jurisdictional dispute petition related to the so-called "complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority" laws, including the amended Prosecutors' Office Act and Criminal Procedure Act, which the Democratic Party led the revision of, in March.

At that time, the Constitutional Court acknowledged that Min Hyung-bae, a Democratic Party lawmaker who originally proposed the bill, had "covertly left the party" to be appointed as a member of the agenda adjustment committee. The Court judged that the actions of Park Kwang-on, then chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who overlooked this and submitted the bill to the committee and declared its passage, violated the National Assembly Act and the Constitution, infringing on the legislative review and voting rights of People Power Party lawmakers.

While acknowledging that the rights of opposition People Power Party lawmakers were partially infringed, the Constitutional Court dismissed the case, stating that the declaration of the bill's passage was not a significant defect to invalidate the act.

In July, the Court also upheld the constitutionality of Article 189, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act, which stipulates the semi-proportional representation system, by unanimous decision of all justices. This decision, which drew criticism from opposition parties except the Democratic Party, is not expected to cause significant controversy given the current composition of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which includes 9 Democratic Party members, 7 People Power Party members including Chairman Kim Do-eup, and Jo Jeong-hoon of the Transition Era party, which is negotiating a merger with the People Power Party.

Questions are also expected regarding last month's Constitutional Court ruling that declared unconstitutional the "ban on leaflet distribution to North Korea" provision in the Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations. The Court found the legislative purpose of the Act legitimate but ruled that the content of restricted expression was excessively broad and that using the state's ultimate punitive power as a last resort excessively restricted freedom of expression, with a 7 (unconstitutional) to 2 (constitutional) vote.

Criticism of delays in the Constitutional Court's rulings is also anticipated. According to data on the "average number of days for adjudication cases" submitted by Constitutional Court member Yoo Sang-beom of the People Power Party, the average case processing time has more than doubled compared to 2017. As of August this year, the average duration for constitutional review cases was 473.9 days, an increase of 61.4 days from 412.5 days in 2017; jurisdictional dispute cases averaged 555 days, up 179.5 days from 375.5 days in 2017. For constitutional complaints, the rights relief type under Article 68, Paragraph 1 of the Constitutional Court Act averaged 744.9 days, an increase of 437.2 days from 307.7 days in 2017, and the norm control type under Article 68, Paragraph 2 averaged 776.7 days, up 301.6 days from 475.1 days in 2017.

Long-term unresolved cases have also increased from 902 in 2018 to 1,576 as of August 2023, a 174% increase. Among these, cases with a deliberation period exceeding two years rose significantly from 126 cases (14%) out of 902 in 2018 to 486 cases (30.8%) out of 1,576 as of August.

Meanwhile, from 2 p.m. on the same day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee will conduct a national audit of the Military Court. Questions are expected regarding the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram case, which prompted amendments to the Military Court Act, and allegations of investigation interference in the case of Corporal Chae, currently under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.