SOUTH KOREA. COUNTRY’S DEATH ROW INMATES NUMBER 61

the number of death row inmates in South Korea increased to 61 after the Supreme Court sentenced a 36-year-old man to death for murder, court officials said. South Korea had not carried out an execution of a convicted criminal since December 1997 amid a fierce debate over the issue of capital punishment.
In verdict, the Supreme Court said: "The death penalty is a stern, extreme punishment to take away the life of one human being, and is also an exceptional punishment which the reasonable judiciary system of a civilized country can impose."
"The adjudication of death penalty should be permitted only in a case that it can be justified in view of the objective of a punishment and the responsibility of a crime," it added.
The man, only identified by his family name Lee, was convicted of raping and murdering a 33-year-old insurance sales woman in August 2004 with the help of two accomplices, court officials said. Lee also killed a taxi driver after getting him to withdraw money with the woman's credit card, the officials said.