Currently, only 58 nations actively practice death penalty, and 134
countries virtually, legally abolished it. The position about death
penalty can vary on the basis of cultural, political and religious
background. In the European Union member states, Article 2 of the
Chart of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of
death penalty. However, the People’s Republic of China, India, some
states of United States apply the death penalty. It is still a matter
of active controversy in many countries including S. Korea.
The death penalty debate in S. Korea has been based on its
political misuse. The abolitionist movements seem to be a result of
political leadership. In February 1998, President Dae-jung Kim(the
Nobel peace prize winner) who had been sentenced to death in 1980 for
a political reason declared an unofficial moratorium on execution. 23
people were executed in December 1997. That was the last executions in
South Korea. As over 10 years, there was no execution in S.Korea, S.
Korea became one of the virtually death penalty abolished nation in
December 2007.
The abolitionist movement is based on the possibility of
misjudgment, the reformation of the criminal and the prevention of
crimes etc. To me, the abolitionist’s opinion seems to be
well-grounded and reasonable. But, then, what about suffering of the
victims and their families?
One Korean movie makes me hesitate to choose the abolishment of
death penalty instantly. It is the movie, “Secret Sunshine” (“Milyang”
in Korean). Do-yeon Jeon won the Best Actress award at the 2007 Cannes
Film Festival for her performance in this emotionally gripping drama
by director Chang-dong Lee.
In this movie, her little boy was kidnapped, killed and she
devastated. She tried to get over the suffering with religion, the
Christian. She seemed (or pretended) to get peace of mind and
salvation in the name of God. So she went to the prison to meet the
murderer and said that she forgave him according to the “God’s will”.
When they met, the murderer said that he had already got the
forgiveness and salvation in the God. Hearing his word and watching
his regretless manner, she got shocked and began to struggle against
“God”, crying “Before I forgive him, who can forgive him? “. She
denied the God and she tried to reveal the hypocrisy of the
Christians.
For over 60 years, the German has continuously apologized for the
Holocaust. Germany has been desperate in its desire to be forgiven.
But, do their continuous acts of national atonement and corporate
redemption give them the forgiveness? Is the mass murderer, Germany
entitled to require the forgiveness ahead of victims? Who are entitled
to forgive them?
I am not sure, in “Secret Sunshine”, whether she could get the
salvation or not and where the forgiveness comes from. I am not sure
what the justice is (the death penalty or forgiveness).
I just hope you to consider the human rights and suffering of both
criminals and victims sufficiently, before choosing the abolition of
death penalty
By Eun Jung Kim
