Debate over capital punishment has been rekindled in Korea in the wake of a series of murders, rapes and other heinous crimes.

The country, which has not carried out any executions for the last 15 years, has been defined as “abortionist in practice” by Amnesty International. The number of death row inmates here stands at around 60.

The country is in tandem with the global trend toward abolishing capital punishment.

According to AI, at least 20 countries were known to have carried out executions in 2011 ― a steep decline from 31 countries recorded a decade ago.

China, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are the three members of the G20 that carried out executions in 2011, according to AI data. The U.S. was the only country in the G8 to have carried out executions in that year.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)