For 62 years, the South Korean court system incarcerated people who cheated on their spouses. However, that is no longer the case. Officials recently lifted the law that stipulates adultery as a crime, stating that it infringes on the Korean constitution.

The court stated, “The prerequisite for happiness is for all people to have their own rights to select their destiny, and the rights to engage in choosing their destiny also includes the right to engage in reproductive actions and choosing their partners.” Presiding justice Park Han-Chul commented, “Even if adultery should be condemned as immoral, state power should not intervene in individuals’ private lives.”

Before this change in law, those who cheated on their spouses—as well as their illicit partners—could be charged and spend approximately two years in jail if they were convicted. The law was created in order to protect Korean women, with the presumption that men have more advantages economically and socially.

In past six years, around 5,500 people were charged for adultery according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. This number has fallen over the years:  260 people were jailed under the law in 2004 and 28 in 2008. This downward trend indicates changes in the Korean society where rapid modernization has conflicted with traditionally conservative perspectives.

The judges commented that it was no longer necessary to view women as economical and social subordinates—after all, Park Geun Hye, the current Korean president, is a woman—and that the law was first enacted in the social context of the 1950s.

Kim Jung Beom, a lawyer and specialist on family law, said, “It has long lost that relevance. For a start, the number of female ‘offenders’ has increased, and in some ways the law has become a way of naming and shaming women.” He also stated that other laws simultaneously provided greater security in their marriages and a fair division of assets in the event of divorce.

The law was overturned by a vote of seven to two; seven judges agreed and two dissented.

The contrasting view insisted that legal acceptance of adultery would assail efforts to promote families. It mentions a statistic showing that 40% of marriages end in divorce. Also, from 2000 to 2006, a minimum 47% of divorces occurred due to the adultery.

Judges added, “Acknowledging that the bond between husband and wife is a main component of a family, the nation and people should secure and enshrine this relationship.”

Sources: cnn.com, theguardian.com