ABSTRACT
International organizations and human rights advocates applaud South Korea's suspension of the death penalty while expecting and hoping for its subsequent official abolition. This chapter presents how capital punishment was, until recently, enforced as a powerful social institution in South Korea. It discusses the evolution of the death-penalty trend in South Korea, especially during the period of democratic transition. The chapter explains the significance of political leadership in championing and leading a variety of activities in opposition to the death penalty. It focuses on the three branches of government executive, legislative and judiciary and discusses their efforts to put the issue of capital punishment on the human rights agenda. It also focuses on to an analysis of grassroots activism directed towards the goal of abolition. Many countries abolishing the death penalty found that the National Assembly or the Parliament, as the legislative body, played a key role in the abolition process of adopting laws and making constitutional amendments.
