[Death Penalty Execution Halted for 26 Years, What Will Happen?] Yoon Administration's Potential Resumption Draws Attention

Discussions Continue on Maintaining and Enforcing the Death Penalty

Will the Yoon Suk-yeol administration actually carry out executions? Debates continue over maintaining the death penalty system versus the de facto suspension of executions. This summer, a series of violent knife attacks targeting numerous citizens on the streets near Sillim Station and Seohyeon Station have raised public calls for harsher punishment of heinous criminals. It is difficult to definitively say whether executions will be carried out at this point. However, there are observations that the atmosphere within the government regarding executions has changed significantly compared to before.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The discussion on carrying out executions was ignited by Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. In September, under Minister Han’s directive, the Ministry of Justice transferred Yoo Young-chul from Daegu Prison to Seoul Detention Center, where a death chamber is installed. On the 7th of this month, Minister Han appeared before the National Assembly’s Budget and Accounts Special Committee and stated, “There are certainly criminals who must be permanently isolated. No rule-of-law country in the world allows people who have committed 10 serial murders and show no remorse while imprisoned to be released and roam freely again after 10 to 20 years,” adding, “I believe that the death penalty system, which necessarily includes a preventive effect, or life imprisonment without parole, is necessary.”

Since executions are carried out following the President’s approval and the Minister of Justice’s order, attention is also focused on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s stance. In the past, President Yoon expressed a reserved position on abolishing the death penalty. During his presidential campaign on February 23 last year, in response to the International Amnesty Korea branch’s “7 Major Human Rights Issues” questionnaire, he said, “Complete abolition of the death penalty requires a mature social consensus.”

A lawyer who previously worked as a prosecutor said, “The presidential office is likely closely monitoring public opinion trends,” and added, “There is a possibility that an execution decision could be made if a decisive incident that raises public support for the death penalty occurs.” He also noted, “The reason South Korea has been able to maintain the death penalty until now is because public opinion favors maintaining it rather than abolishing it.”

In fact, a Gallup Korea poll conducted in July last year showed 69% support for maintaining the death penalty, while 23% favored abolition. A 2018 survey by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, which polled 1,000 citizens, found that 80% supported maintaining the death penalty.

There are also concerns that even if the government carries out executions based on public opinion, it should not ignore international opinion. There are worries that South Korea’s international standing as a “human rights advanced country” could be damaged. In particular, relations with the European Union (EU), where most countries have abolished the death penalty, could become strained.

When South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty constitutional in 2010, the EU Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the decision, stating it was “very disappointed that the Korean Constitutional Court recognized the death penalty again, following its 1996 decision.”

Earlier, in 2009, the South Korean government joined the “Criminal Justice Cooperation Convention and Extradition Agreement” with member states of the Council of Europe and other countries. Accordingly, for criminals extradited from the 47 EU member countries that have joined the agreement, as well as Israel and South Africa, even if a South Korean court sentences them to death, the sentence cannot be carried out.

Special Coverage Team of Legal Times = Reporters Hong Yoon-ji, Han Soo-hyun, Lim Hyun-kyung, Park Sun-jung

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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