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| The statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul / Korea Times file |
Expert critically reviews King Sejong's criminal policy
By Kang Hyun-kyung
King Sejong of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), who sat on the throne for over 31 years from 1418 until his death in 1450, launched a crackdown against crime in the last three years of his reign, according to a recent study.
Cho Byung-in, a former senior research fellow at Korea Institute of Criminology in Seoul, said he discovered that 550 prisoners were executed during King Sejong's final three years. The figure is nearly four times the average number of criminals who faced execution during his previous 28 years.
The capital punishment figure reached its peak with 233 in 1448, the 30th year after Sejong ascended to the throne. Most of the criminals who faced execution were burglars.
"The high rate of capital punishment that came later in his tenure is associated with the shift of policy focus from tolerance to severe punishment," Cho claimed in his paper, titled "A Study of King Sejong's Battle against Burglars" published in the academic journal "Criminology and Public Policy" summer edition.
"It is highly likely that many of the thieves who were executed later in King Sejong's tenure could have managed to avoid the death penalty if they were caught in his early years. With the introduction of a policy shift, however, it was inevitable for them to face capital punishment."
The finding is somewhat surprising for those who were taught about the king. Sejong is lauded as one of the greatest kings of Joseon for his compassion for the people and scholarly accomplishments, including the invention of the Korean writing system, Hangeul.
The paper hints that he mostly lived up to this reputation, but burglars took advantage of his goodwill and this consequently led the king to introduce harsh punishment later in his reign.
In his early years, Cho said, the king ordered his law enforcement agency not to abuse criminal policy.
King Sejong also tried to delay or suspend the implementation of law enforcement with various excuses. One of the excuses he used was rather superstitious. According to Cho, the king believed that if an execution was carried out, the nation would be cursed and the crop harvest could be negatively affected. The king also banned executions if the nation saw a solar or lunar eclipse, as well as on the first day of each month, full-moon days and rainy days.
His benevolent criminal policy, however, backfired.
The nation fell into insecurity due to a surge of theft. It saw the advent of "fire thieves" who carried torches whenever they attacked people and stole their wealth and belongings, terrifying the residents of the capital city Hanyang.
Cho said the criminal policy shift later in King Sejong's reign appeared to have been associated with the increase in theft and burglary cases.
"King Sejong discussed the direction of criminal policy with his advisers for many years and finally went for harsh punishment for acts of burglary," the author said.
Once a cow or horse thief was caught, they would be hit 100 times with sticks and tattooed with the characters "cow thief" or "horse thief" on their arm. They were also ordered to live separately from their family. If they were caught again for the same offense, according to Cho, they faced death.
The author concluded his article with the implications from King Sejong's criminal policy shift. According to him, it's impossible for law enforcement officials to outperform criminals, even if they are armed with advanced technologies and investigative techniques. This is particularly so when the criminals keep getting better at not being caught.
