Death penalty demand for Lee Gi-young... Jo Kyung-tae "Must be carried out"

Published 12 Apr.2023 13:11(KST)

On the 12th, as the death penalty was requested for Lee Gi-young, who was arrested on charges of murdering his cohabiting partner and a taxi driver, Jo Kyung-tae, a member of the People Power Party, raised his voice saying, "The death penalty must be carried out."

On the same day, Jo stated through his social media (SNS), "In our country, even if heinous criminals are sentenced to death, the death penalty is not carried out. Criminals know this fact, so heinous crimes continue to occur day by day."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

That morning, the prosecution requested the court at the Uijeongbu District Court in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to sentence Lee to death during the sentencing hearing. However, South Korea is effectively a 'death penalty abolition country,' as no executions have been carried out since 1997. Recently, the 'Gwangmyeong triple murder suspect,' who was sentenced to death for killing his wife and two sons, caused controversy by stating in his final statement, "Our country does not carry out the death penalty, does it?"

Jo said, "The death penalty must be carried out on criminals sentenced to death to prevent similar crimes and to protect innocent citizens," adding, "In a true rule-of-law country, the state protects the safety and lives of law-abiding citizens."