The government plans to revise the general provisions of the nation's criminal code to bar the court from arbitrarily reducing sentences for convicted criminals for reasons of mitigating circumstances, officials said Wednesday.
According to the officials at the Justice Ministry, the government is moving to amend the criminal code's general rules for the first time since its enactment nearly six decades ago as a signal of its strong determination to crack down on the rising number of violent crimes.
The soon-to-be revised general provisions will also call for extraterritorial application of the South Korean criminal law to punish
foreigners for acts of terrorism and other grave crimes against South Korean people abroad, said the officials.
In addition, the long-debated extended detention system for convicted violent criminals will be enforced as part of the government's efforts to reform the nation's justice system to match changing social trends.
The planned revision is expected to limit judges' leniency toward high-profile figures and business executives convicted of crimes as they
often receive less-than-expected terms on the ambiguous grounds, including their potential contribution to economic development, low probability of repeat crime, physical illness or drunken state.
Officials explained that the latest move is aimed at preventing convicts' attempts to avoid hefty sentences by employing influential lawyers to defend their cases.
In crime prevention efforts, the draft calls for revival of an extended detention system to keep brutal criminals in jail even after they complete their full sentences. The system was introduced in 1980 but was abolished in 2005.
As the previous system was repealed due to criticism of human rights violations, the proposed amendment limits the subjects to high-risk criminals including murderers, rapists, armed robbers and those convicted of repeated thefts and assaults.