A couple of weeks ago, Korean actress Ok So Ri made headlines for being on trial for adultery.
After admitting in court to the affair, Ok So Ri took the case to the South Korean Constitutional Court in an attempt to overturn the country’s anti-adultery law.
The law was enacted fifty years ago to protect women who had few rights in a male-dominated country. However, critics claim that the statute is no longer fit for Korea’s modern society with advanced civil and family court systems. Furthermore, some view the anti-adultery law as a means of revenge by the scorned spouse.
Three days ago, the verdict came in: the request to overturn the law was denied and Ok So Ri was sentenced to two years in jail.
I was very much surprised by the verdict. South Korea has some of the highest rates of extra-marital sexual relationships in the modern world. Married men frequently visit massage parlors, room salons, and engage in other activities that are unfaithful to their wives.
By no means do I condone the behavior. Rather, I was surprised at the hypocrisy of it all.
I then began to imagine what it would be like if such a law existed here in the United States. Would people tend to stay more faithful? Would marriage rates decrease? Or would the jails be overrun by adulterers?
What do you think?
