Oldest Death Row Inmate and Serial Killer in South Korea Dies While Serving Sentence

After Molesting and Murdering Four Tourists at Sea
Raised Issue of Death Penalty's Unconstitutionality... Filed Constitutional Petition

The oldest death row inmate in the country, who had been sentenced to death for the serial murder of four tourists, was belatedly confirmed to have died in prison.

On June 29, Newsis reported that Oh (87), the death row inmate, died last year of a chronic illness while incarcerated at Gwangju Prison.

In 2007, while working in the fishing industry, Oh lured two male and female university students who had boarded his boat for sightseeing near Boseong, South Jeolla Province, and murdered them at sea. About 20 days later, he was also tried on charges of luring two women in their twenties and murdering them in the same manner.

According to the investigation, Oh developed an intent to molest the women who boarded his boat, and committed the crimes at sea where there was no place to escape. His crimes came to light as police investigations intensified following the successive discovery of bodies.

The back view of Mr. Oh captured on the digital camera of the first incident victim. Mr. Oh was confirmed to have died last year while serving as the oldest death row inmate in the country. Yonhap News

The prosecution sought the death penalty for Oh, and the court accepted this, sentencing him to death in the first trial. The sentence was upheld in both the appeals court and the Supreme Court, officially designating him as a death row inmate.

During the trial, Oh also challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty. In 2010, during his appeal, his attorney filed a constitutional review, arguing that an alternative punishment between death and life imprisonment was necessary.

The Gwangju High Court accepted this request, and for the second time in 14 years since 1996, a constitutional petition for the abolition of the death penalty was conducted. However, the Constitutional Court ultimately decided to maintain the death penalty by a vote of 5 (constitutional) to 4 (unconstitutional).

As a result, Oh's death sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court in June of that year, and he continued to serve as the oldest death row inmate in the country.

While the death penalty remains legal in South Korea, no executions have been carried out since 1997. For this reason, the international community classifies South Korea as a country that has effectively abolished the death penalty.

In 2019, a third constitutional challenge to the death penalty was filed, and the case is currently under review by the Constitutional Court.