|
Gov't set to abolish adultery as a crime
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, March 18 (Yonhap) -- The government is pushing to abolish adultery as a crime in response to growing public calls for greater sexual freedom and individual privacy, officials at the Justice Ministry said Thursday.
The ministry said its criminal code revision committee has voted after months of debate to remove a clause in the criminal code penalizing adultery.
South Korea and some other Asian countries have enforced controversial anti-adultery laws, which stipulate punishment for extramarital affairs.
The Constitutional Court ruled in October 2008 by the narrowest margin ever in favor of keeping the country's decades-old anti-adultery law. But local courts have shown increasing leniency toward those convicted of adultery, with the vast majority given suspended sentences in the last few years.
"The consensus seems to be that punishing extramarital affairs by law could infringe upon an individual's right in deciding on their sexual relations and invade their privacy," said Jeon Kwang-jin, a ministry official involved with the committee.
The ministry plans to draft a bill based on the committee's recommendations and public hearings before submitting it to the parliament later this year, ministry officials said.
The committee was established in 2007 with 24 legal experts and is aimed at reforming the half-century old justice system in accordance with changing social trends.
According to ministry officials, the committee is also discussing permitting abortions on a limited basis through the revision of the criminal code. Abortion is illegal in Korea.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
| 
Home
