Capital punishment in South Korea - wikipedia Capital punishment in South Korea Capital punishment is a legal penalty in South Korea. As of 2017, there are at least 300 people in South Korea under a death sentence. Executions are carried out by hanging. On February 19, 2016, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence passed on a man known by the surname ' Lim ', a 24 - year - old conscripted Army sergeant who killed five fellow soldiers and injured seven others in a shooting rampage near the border with North Korea in 2014. He became the 361st person on death row in South Korea. According to Yonhap, of the 361 people on death row, 45, including Lim, were soldiers. Contents 1 History 2 Developments 3 Notable cases 4 Notes History Executions in Korea have existed since the Joseon Period. The purpose of executions was to cause reactions and stop crimes. Methods of executions included slow slicing, hanging, and dismemberment. Heads of executed people have always been used as warnings to others. Specifically, dismembered heads were displayed to the public both to serve as public warning and enforce military courtesy. However, bodies of executed people were allowed funeral proceedings. In contemporary history, the first execution law was established on March 25, 1895, by the Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan acting under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The first death sentence was given four days later, on March 29, 1895 to Jeon Bongjun. Since 1948, a total of 902 people have been executed. Currently, the Penal Code of South Korea regulates executions as a form of punishment for some crimes according to the Criminal Law section 41. Those crimes include : Rebellion ( Section 87 ), Conspiracy with foreign countries ( Section 92 ), homicide ( Section 250 ), robbery - homicide ( Section 338 ), and other 12 sections. People under 18 can not be executed according to Juvenile Law ( Section 59, Juvenile Law ). Developments In February 1998, then - president Kim Dae - jung enacted a moratorium on executions. This moratorium is still in effect as of 2013. Thus, executions in Korea are considered to be abolished de facto. The last executions took place in December 1997, when 23 people were put to death. However, there are still at least 60 people with a death sentence, as of 2013. In 2010 the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that capital punishment did not violate `` human dignity and worth '' in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. In a five - to - four decision, capital punishment was upheld as constitutional. Institutions such as Amnesty International considered this a ' major setback for South Korea '. Later in 2010, Justice Minister Lee Kwi - nam alluded to a possibility of resuming executions. In 2013, three bills which proposed abolishment of the death penalty lapsed at the end of the National Assembly 's term. Executions are still a matter of debate. People have called for executions for violent crimes, especially those involving rape of minors. A 2017 poll found younger South Koreans are more likely to support capital punishment than older ones. people in their 20s were the most supportive at 62.6 percent. Notable cases Kang Ho - sun was convicted of kidnapping and killing eight women between 2006 and 2008, and of burning to death his wife and mother - in - law in 2005. Kang, 38, was arrested in January for the murder of a female college student and later confessed to killing and secretly burying seven other women. Other death row inmates include Yoo Young - chul and members of the Chijon family, a former gang of cannibals. In March 2010, in contrast to prior speculations, Minister Lee Kwi - nam hinted that the executions of death row inmates will resume, breaking the virtual 13 - year moratorium. The remarks came a few days after Kim Kil - tae, who raped and murdered a 15 - year - old schoolgirl, was convicted. However, this did not happen. In December 2010, Kimk 's death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment and the prosecutors did not appeal to the Supreme Court. Notes ^ Jump up to : Amnesty International Report 2013 ( PDF ), Amnesty International Report, Amnesty International, 2013, pp. 162 -- 164 Jump up ^ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/02/19/0200000000AEN20160219006500315.html?input=www.tweeter.com Jump up ^ http://bigstory.ap.org/article/373e0fa302cc4154b6b8a75d4fdb3e2b/s-korea-top-court-oks-soldiers-death-penalty-over-rampage Jump up ^ `` 사형 ''. Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved October 23, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` 사형 ( Todesstrafe, 死刑 ) ''. Doosan Corporation. Retrieved October 22, 2013. Jump up ^ Bright, Arthur. `` India uses death penalty : 5 other places where it 's legal but rare ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 21, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` South Korea death penalty abolition set back by Constitutional Court ruling ''. Amnesty International. February 25, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` South Korea must not resume use of the death penalty ''. Amnesty International. February 16, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013. Jump up ^ Park, Si - soo ( March 16, 2010 ). `` Minister Hints at Resuming Death Row Executions ''. The Korea Times. Retrieved October 23, 2013. Jump up ^ Woo, Jaeyeon ( September 6, 2012 ). `` Hideous Crimes Spark Debate on Death Penalty ''. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved October 23, 2013. Jump up ^ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/11/06/0200000000AEN20171106005500315.html Jump up ^ http://www.malaysiandigest.com/world/706299-over-half-of-s-korean-people-support-carrying-out-death-penalty-poll.html Jump up ^ `` Korean killer gets death penalty ''. BBC News. 2009 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Minister Hints at Resuming Death Row Execution ''. March 16, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010. Jump up ^ Bae, Hyun - jung ( 2010 - 12 - 15 ). `` Rapist - murderer 's sentence reduced to life imprisonment ''. The Korean Herald English Edition. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 20. Capital punishment Retentionist countries Afghanistan Bahamas Bangladesh Belarus Botswana China Cuba Egypt India Indonesia Iran Iraq Jamaica Japan Jordan Lebanon Malaysia Nigeria North Korea Pakistan Saint Kitts and Nevis Saudi Arabia Singapore Somalia Syria Taiwan Thailand United Arab Emirates United States Vietnam Yemen Abolitionist in practice countries Kenya Laos Maldives Russia South Korea Sri Lanka Tajikistan Tonga Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only Brazil Guatemala Israel Abolitionist countries Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bhutan Bulgaria Canada Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Mexico Mongolia Netherlands New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Serbia South Africa Spain Suriname Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Uzbekistan Venezuela Current methods Hanging Shooting / firing squad Lethal injection Electrocution Gas inhalation Beheading Stoning Crucifixion Ancient methods Bestiarii Damnatio ad bestias Blood eagle Blowing from a gun Brazen bull Boiling Breaking wheel Burial Burning Crushing Disembowelment Dismemberment Drowning Republican marriage Elephant Falling Flaying Garrote Hanged, drawn and quartered Immurement Impalement Ishikozume Mazzatello Sawing Scaphism Slow slicing Stoning Suffocation in ash Upright jerker Waist chop Related topics Use by country Most recent executions by country Crime Death row Final statement Last meal Penology Religion and capital punishment Wrongful execution Capital punishment for drug trafficking Capital punishment in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor ( Timor - Leste ) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Hong Kong Macau Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capital_punishment_in_South_Korea&oldid=852537663 '' Categories : South Korean law Capital punishment by country Death in South Korea Human rights in South Korea Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español 한국어 മലയാളം 日本 語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 29 July 2018, at 17 : 45 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the death penalty in south korea
Answer: hanging