It was reported that the governing Uri Party was preparing...

It was reported that the governing Uri Party was preparing to submit legislation that if enacted would put an end to the death penalty in South Korea. A move to abolish capital punishment had been on the rise for many years. In the previous National Assembly, more than 50 lawmakers sought to do away with the system.
"The death penalty system has caused more harm than good," Choe Yong-gyu, a Uri lawmaker, said yesterday. "It is right to abolish the system."
As an option, instead of doing away with death penalty, the Uri Party said it was also considering introducing life sentences with no parole possible for at least 10 years.
The bill was being sponsored by Yoo Ihn-tae, a senior Uri lawmaker and former Blue House senior secretary for political affairs. "The reason that I promote the abolition of capital punishment is to put an end to the shameful past of Korea," Mr. Yoo said.
Mr. Yoo was once condemned to death himself during his student days for his actions in fighting the authoritarian regime of President Park Chung Hee in the 1970s.
In 1974, 180 student leaders including Mr. Yoon were taken into custody and indicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
Thirteen of the students, including Mr. Yoo, received death penalties in courts-martial and eight were executed less than 24 hours after the verdict.