[Opinion] The Nature of a Crime

On the 19th year of King Seongjong of the Joseon Dynasty, a private slave was apprehended for having seized and shaken his father’s hair. The then Ministry of Justice investigated the matter and informed the king that, “According to the law, the punishment should be an immediate beheading,” upon which the king answered, “So be it.” During the Joseon Dynasty, grave criminals were executed immediately upon such verdicts (immediate beheading), while other beheadings were postponed if the period was within the life-resuscitating period of time between the spring and fall equinox (awaited beheading). Criminals were treated differently according to the nature of the crime.

King Jungjong was a king who strived to extend compassion even to the gravest of convicts. Regarding the execution timing of robber Park Ji-mae, the king asked his subjects, “This time of year, the Earth is enjoying a reanimation of life, which clouds my heart to carry out the execution. What say you to waiting until fall?” A cabinet member answered, “He is a brutal killer, my Lord. Crimes have different gravity, which is why such executions should not wait.” Jungjong reluctantly authorized an immediate execution.

In order to enforce a punishment, a culprit must first be found guilty. Then, if he turns out to be a convict, the gravity and nature of the crime must be considered next. Democratic Party presidential candidate Rhee In-je criticized Lee Hoi-chang, who is rumored to be running for the presidency, saying, “Lee Hoi-chang’s crime is worse than mine.”

During the 1997 election, Lee’s son became a core issue regarding whether he had evaded military service on purpose, and Lee’s public support ratings plummeted to 10%. Candidate Rhee In-je stepped up as the alternative and candidate Rhee’s current alleged ‘less severe crime’ probably connotes that Lee is a ‘spare option’ to a potential fall in the polls of Grand National Party candidate Lee Myung-bak.

His allegations are interesting in that he is finally acknowledging that he was ‘guilty’ 10 years ago, when he refused to accept the outcome of party elections for his presidential candidacy. His logic is that if a presidential candidate, although legitimately selected through competition as candidate, loses support, it is legitimate to provide an alternative. Of course the logic is obstinate. Candidate Rhee played a definitive role in the election of Kim Dae-jung and provided the grounds to establish rules that prohibit a candidate from rejecting a party nomination vote and running for the presidency on his own. He has since been a journeyman, moving from this party to another. I cannot but help wonder what Lee Hoi-chang must be thinking, after having been told that his crimes “were of a worse nature” by a man like Rhee In-je.

Editorial Writer, Yuk Jeong-soo, sooya@donga.com