SEOUL (UCAN) - Law is made for human beings, but in South Korean society the law takes precedence over human being, retired Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan of Seoul told judicial candidates in a lecture here.
"Is law first or is the human being first?" Cardinal Kim asked some 700 potential lawyers, judges and prosecutors in a special lecture hosted by the Judicial Research and Training Institute April 14 in Seoul.
"Most of you may believe you are convinced that 'law exists for human beings,' but in reality what you experience is often the contrary," said the cardinal, considered one of the most respected elders in South Korean society.
Cardinal Kim told the hundreds of trainees who had passed their law exam that concerning the issue of human rights he is disappointed with the current government of President Kim Dae-jung, a Catholic. Noting the disclosure of an intelligence probe of a recently released political prisoner, he said this means that basically there is no change under President Kim, who suffered as a political prisoner several times.
Cardinal Kim also revealed that under past military governments his personal telephone was illegally tapped and his mail censored. Citing "Les Miserables," a novel by French writer Victor Hugo that explores the idea of justice, the cardinal said that a code of law does not explain everything and that it is valid only when it exists for people.
Cardinal Kim also made clear his position against the death penalty by saying that people can make an enormously wrong judgment. As a result, innocent people can be victimized by a man-made system, he said.
"People who favor the death penalty believe that it can deter criminals, but the historical fact has shown us that it does not deter crime," he added in his lecture, which was titled "Law and the Human Being."
UCAN 21. april 1999