October 10th is World Day Against Death Penalty.
For two decades, South Korea has not executed anyone.
The sentence is largely seen as a practice that goes against human rights principles.
But according to our Oh Soo-young, it's undecided whether the law should be scrapped from the country's constitution.
It appears most South Koreans would like the death penalty system to remain, at least symbolically, until an alternative system is introduced.
On Wednesday, a survey conducted by the National Human Rights Commission found 59 percent of South Koreans believe grounds for capital punishment should remain Constitutional,... but expressed caution on actually enforcing the law.
The number is up by two-point-two percentage points compared to the previous survey taken 15 years ago,... while the number of those calling for an eventual or immediate scrapping fell by 8 and 5 percentage points respectively.
As South Korea hasn't enforced executions since 1997,... international observers have classified it as a country that has technically abolished capital punishment.
Still, the general public has been hesitant to do away with the law completely.
According to the survey, the biggest reason for keeping the system was the perceived increase in brutal crimes,... with respondents believing capital punishment could curb outbreaks of crime.
At the same time, 70 percent said the death penalty should be scrapped if there is an alternative punishment system.
Experts say the public should consider the actual effect of the current policy,... to form a concrete stance on the issue.

"The justice ministry's data shows murder figures have been decreasing, even after Korea stopped carrying out the death penalty. The figures have fallen to three digits for the past three, four years. There's no case for the system to exist, even symbolically."

While lawmakers have been proposing bills every year since 2014 to legally abolish the death penalty, such attempts have fallen through, suggesting a lack of public support.
Human rights groups say there must be stronger efforts to inform and guide the public.

"We've seen this in France. In 1981, more than 60 percent favoured retention, the president of the time took steps to abolish it. Then the public has come around, so I think education is key but political leadership is also a crucial element."

Only 16 countries had banned the use of the death penalty by 1977,... but now 140 countries have either abolished or stopped practicing the law under basic human rights principles.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.