Constitutional Court says heavier penalty for parricide constitutional

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled constitutional a provision of the Criminal Act that imposes harsher penalties for those who murder their own family members than those convicted of ordinary murder.

The court voted 8-1 on a petition filed by an individual who argued that Article 250, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act, which defines the crime of murdering a lineal ascendant, violates the constitutional rights to equality and the pursuit of happiness.

The provision stipulates that those who kill their own or their spouse's immediate family members shall be punished by a minimum prison sentence of seven years, compared with the minimum prison sentence of five years for those convicted of murdering others.

The plaintiff had been indicted on charges of killing their own father by neglecting him while serving as his caregiver, and received a final sentence of four years in prison in March 2022.

The Constitutional Court said murdering a lineal ascendant fundamentally undermines the special bond and trust between parent and child and destroys the very foundation of the family unit, adding there is a rational basis for the legislature to impose a harsher statutory penalty for the offense than for ordinary murder.

The latest ruling follows a 2013 ruling, in which the court found the same provision of the Criminal Act constitutional.