Till Adultery Do Us Part?

Suspended sentence for thespian Korean adulteress Ok So-Ri

Article from: Agence France-Presse
A LEADING South Korean actress who unsuccessfully challenged a national law which criminalises adultery has been given a suspended jail sentence for her extra-marital affair.

Ok So-Ri, 40, was sentenced by a district court on Wednesday after the constitutional court in October rejected her petition against the decades-old law.

Ok had admitted having an affair with a pop singer but blamed it on a loveless marriage to actor husband Park Chul, who had sued her and two of her alleged lovers. She had argued that the law infringed the right of individual choice in sexual relations. But the constitutional court ruled that adultery should remain a crime punishable by jail. It was the fourth time the court had refused to overturn the legislation, introduced in 1953. Ok was given a suspended eight-month jail term by the court in Goyang city, 30km northwest of Seoul.

"Committing adultery with an acquaintance of the spouse is something to be denounced. However, the accuser (Park) should also be blamed for being negligent in family life," the court said in a statement."It should also be taken into account that the accused, a celebrity whose private life has been laid bare to the public, has suffered enough pain."

The 38-year-old pop singer, who was not publicly identified, received a suspended six-month jail sentence.Ok's petition rekindled debate over whether adultery should be a crime punishable by up to two years in jail.

Some women's groups contend the law must be maintained to protect female rights in a traditionally male-dominated society. Critics say it breaches an individual's right to sexual choice and is outdated. Some lawmakers are pushing for a bill to repeal the legislation. The law is usually invoked only when a husband or wife complains of a partner's adultery. He or she must follow up the complaint by filing for divorce.

According to a survey quoted by newspapers last year, nearly 68 percent of South Korean men and 12 percent of women confessed to having sex outside marriage. Court data shows the number of people jailed for adultery has declined sharply over the years. Last year, 1,190 people were indicted but only 47 were jailed and 592 were given suspended sentences.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24813882-2703,00.html

Manlaw: Let me first say that this is a fawked-up law in South Korea. With that said, O.K. So-Ri and any male that voilates this law should be lucky the penalty isn't castration. See, if that was the penalty, I think adultery would be WAY down (no pun intended). But the interesting stat is the survey done by South Korean newspapers that said "nearly 68 percent of South Korean men and 12 percent of women confessed to having sex outside of marriage." Now, you know someone is lying here and when there is such a disparity in the polling, I am throwing the dirt on the women. These men are not cheating by themselves. Women have much more incentive to lie about sex than men so they will not be seen as loose. To correct this irregularity, you should multiply the women's precentage by at least 3 to bring it to 36 percent. That's more believable.