Local EU Statement on the Day against the Death Penalty

The Ambassadors of the European Union and the 24 Member States represented in the Republic of Korea reaffirm the EU’s strong opposition to the death penalty around the world and call for de jure abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Korea. The RoK has not carried out executions for more than 20 years, but 59 people are still under the sentence of death, and the legal provisions for capital punishment remain in place. Death sentences continue to be handed down, as have been observed in the course of this year. 

The Ambassadors once again recall the recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea calling for the RoK to accede to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, declare an official moratorium on the implementation of executions and take gradual measures to abolish the death penalty. Last year, the National Human Rights Commission also presented an opinion to the Constitutional Court calling for the abolition of the death penalty. 

The Republic of Korea’s move to cast its vote in favour of the resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020 was a step forward in abolishing the death penalty. The EU has closely followed the Constitutional Court’s third public hearing on the constitutionality of the death penalty, and we will continue to pay keen attention to the upcoming ruling of the Constitutional Court.

As the UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres said, the death penalty has no place in the 21^st century. Death penalty is a cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment that is neither effective nor necessary for the maintenance of justice. Ambassadors will continue to demonstrate the European Union’s firm and unequivocal opposition to the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances.