Yu Yeong-cheol sentenced to death

The death sentence to the serial murderer Yu Yông-ch'ôl (Yoo Young-chul) has now been confirmed (in Kyunhyang Sinmun). (My notes on the topic written after Yu was arrested last summer are here and here.) As the discussion about the abolition of death sentence had been going on for a longer time in ROK, the horrible crimes of Yu couldn't have been more unwelcome for the abolitionists. As long as the ROK criminal code has the death sentence, I'm not surprised that it was applied to Yu. But what I feel sorry about is that the death sentence has not been abolished yet. I made a short note this spring about the law bill for the abolition submitted to the legislation committee, but I have not heard about it since (and have forgotten to find out). The number of people in death row in South Korea with the addition of Yu is now 60. That number has not diminished since Kim Dae-jung took office, as no death sentences have been carried out during his and Roh's presidency. I'm confident that the death sentence will be abolished and ROK join the civilized nations in this regard soon. Categories at del.icio.us/hunjang: Koreansociety • deathpenalty