Latest prison sentence for habitual burglar draws criticism

Legal experts are criticizing the Sept. 13 sentence handed down by the Seoul Central District Court of three years in prison for Bae, 44-year-old habitual burglar, who has served nearly 16 years behind bars.

His first sentence came in 1996 when he was 28 after he got 10 months and two years of probation for stealing a briefcase worth 25,000 won (22.40 U.S. dollars) from a drunk who had collapsed at a subway station. No cash was in the briefcase.

Immediately after the Bae`s probation ended, he stole a wallet from another drunk that had just a debit card and ID card. He spent 10 months in prison for this crime.

After his release from prison, Bae got a job at a restaurant but his criminal past tainted his image and led to economic distress. He resorted to committing burglary again though he never used weapons or physical force.

The man was sentenced to a combined 15 years and eight months for burglary convictions. He stole less than 1.5 million won (1,344 dollars) worth of money and goods, and spent 11 years and 10 months in prison minus the three years he just received from the Seoul court.

His time in prison has been more than that mandated for sex offenders or people convicted of attempted murder.

Legal experts have long said prison sentences for habitual theft is too long, adding that punishing the perpetrator and not the crime goes against legal principles and global trends. Committing crime in the pursuit of livelihood should be handled by considering re-socialization rather than punishment because they are inherently different from violent crimes.

Reflecting these arguments, the Justice Ministry in 2010 submitted a criminal law revision but this was discarded as the 18th National Assembly failed to handle it within its session. The ministry is considering resubmitting the bill for a pre-announcement of legislation at year`s end.

sunggyu@donga.com