South Korea strikes down ban on adultery

South Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down a 1953 law on Thursday that made adultery illegal and punishable by up to two years in jail, on the grounds that the more-than-60-year-old law was unconstitutional.

The decision also granted the possibility of retrial to the approximately 5,400 people that have been indicted under the law since 2008, the Korea Herald reported.

Seven out of nine justices ruled against the law, which had faced years of criticism from citizens who said it violated individuals’ privacy and represented outdated views.

“The article violates individuals’ freedom to choose their sexual partners and their right to privacy,” five justices wrote in a joint opinion. “Not only is the anti-adultery law gradually losing its place in the world, it no longer reflects our people’s way of thinking.”

Justice Ahn Chang-ho, who dissented to the opinion, said the vote could “spark a surge in debauchery,” the BBC reported.

The law was created in 1953 in an attempt to compensate for the lack of recourse available to women whose husbands had extramarital affairs, according to The New York Times. It had been challenged five times, including in a widely-publicized case in 2008 when actor Ok So-ri received an eight-month jail sentence for adultery.

Since 1985, approximately 53,000 people have received indictments for adultery, but jail sentences were uncommon. Less than 1 percent of people indicted under the law since 2008 have been convicted, according to the Korea Herald.

Following the ruling, shares in Unidus Corp., one of South Korea’s largest condom manufacturers, increased by 15 percent.