"I don't know if considering human rights or the possibility of rehabilitation
is truly just," anger expressed
"It is truly time to bring back the death penalty"
Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Jang Ye-chan urged the reinstatement of the death penalty in response to the murder of an elementary school student in Daejeon, saying, "My hands are trembling with sadness, sorrow, anger, and despair," and "It is truly time to bring back the death penalty."
On the 11th, Jang posted on his Facebook, "I saw the news about the incident in Daejeon, and although I don't even know the child's face, my heart is crushed, and I cannot sleep," expressing his sorrow. "How could such a thing happen to a child who is bright and clear, accepting everything in the world without suspicion? And what must the family be feeling? I cannot even begin to imagine," he lamented.
He added, "My hands tremble with sadness, sorrow, anger, and despair. Just from the news, my heart aches this much, so how must Ms. Kim's parents, who are probably around my age, be coping at this moment?" He expressed outrage, saying, "I cannot contain my anger at this premeditated heinous crime that happened in a school, a place where children should be most safely protected. What kind of punishment should our society impose on the female teacher who lured and murdered a child with whom she had no prior relationship?"
He continued, "I don't know if it is truly just to isolate such criminals from society while considering human rights or the possibility of rehabilitation, only to watch as they might receive reduced sentences due to reasons like depression or diminished mental capacity. Extreme heinous crimes are increasing day by day. I believe it is the duty and responsibility of those in politics to seriously discuss reinstating the death penalty and decisively resuming executions for heinous criminals who cannot be rehabilitated," he stated.
He further emphasized, "If the United States, Japan, and Taiwan carry out the death penalty, why can't we? There are beings in our society who wear masks but are not human, and if they destroy the ordinary lives of families, the state must warn them with the strongest punishment. This is not about elites in safe Gangnam apartments talking about human rights; it is time for a strong belief that 'the state protects its people, and if it fails, it will make them pay the price,'" he stressed.
On the morning of the 11th, letters, flowers, snacks, and dolls left by citizens were placed at an elementary school in Seo-gu, Daejeon, where the incident occurred. Photo by Yonhap News
Earlier, around 4:30 p.m. on the 10th, when 8-year-old Kim Ha-neul did not come to her academy and could not be reached, her parents reported her missing to the police. Tracking her phone location, the police found it at the school's second-floor audiovisual room. After confirming with school officials, they discovered Kim and a person identified as A collapsed there. While police and family members were gathering at the audiovisual room, A locked the storage room door. The police broke down the door and found Kim and A, then requested emergency medical services.
The police faced difficulties in determining the initial circumstances and identifying suspects due to the absence of CCTV at the scene. However, A confessed to the crime around 9 p.m. that day, and after surgery, authorities plan to investigate the exact motive and details. The police believe A, a full-time teacher at the school who had recently returned from a leave of absence due to depression and other issues at the end of last year, killed Kim with a weapon and then attempted self-harm. The police plan to investigate A's exact motive and circumstances once A's health improves.
Meanwhile, in 2007, Amnesty International classified South Korea as a "de facto abolitionist country" because no executions had been carried out for over ten years since 1997. Even those sentenced to death, such as Yoo Young-chul, Kang Ho-soon, and Jung Doo-young, remain incarcerated in detention centers or prisons without execution. In October last year, a survey conducted by Park Jun-tae, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the People Power Party, in collaboration with the anonymous workplace community app Blind, found that 74% of male and female office workers surveyed supported carrying out executions. While 22% agreed with retaining the death penalty but opposed executions, only 3% supported abolishing the death penalty altogether.
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