The Ministry of Justice expressed its opposition to...

The Ministry of Justice expressed its opposition to a move by 154 Assemblymen to pass a bill abolishing capital punishment saying that lawmakers should be careful in considering the move.
The ministry pointed out that the Constitutional Court ruled the death penalty was not against the Constitution on November 28, 1996, adding that capital punishment was a deterrent to serious crimes.
According to the ministry, 902 people have been executed in Korea since 1948, including 39 and 57 under former presidents Roh Tae-woo and Kim Young-sam. It added that none of the 45 people on death row under the present administration have been executed and seven have had sentences commuted to life imprisonment.