South Korea strikes down decades old adultery law

South Korea strikes down decades old adultery law
South Korea strikes down decades old adultery law

South Korea strikes down decades old adultery law

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Adultery is still considered a crime in many parts of the world. Punishment can be severe and women have often been treated differently under these types of laws. Last month South Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down a law that made an extra marital affair punishable by up to two years in prison. Tens of thousands of Koreans had been indicted under the legislation since it was first adopted in 1953. Katharine Moon is a senior fellow at the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies and the SK Foundation Chair. She joins us to talk about why the law was repealed and what it says about changes in South Korean society. PHOTO: Park Han-chul, center, president of South Korea’s Constitutional Court, sits with other judges before the judgment at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)