I for one agree with the law, though only to a certain extent. I think jail time is rather overboard. However, I do think community service would be a great punishment for a crime like this.

I'm glad Korea has such laws. It saddens me to see Korea becoming more and more like the United States everyday. They just don't realize that Americans are for the most part, horrible people who should not be copied.

In the case of 옥소리, where it's a revenge case, this is absolutely ridiculous, there should be a time limit on allegations of this type.

I don't want to get into a rant on South Korea, but my impression is that the husband and his team will realistically not be able to get an indictment out of that. The law is there, and the husband wants her to suffer as much as possible. And there you go. Divorce is nasty everywhere.

I think it's like parents here sometimes going after a teenager with statutory rape accusations, when the age difference was normal and sexual relations were consensual.

Are you @#*@$#* kidding me? No way should the courts arbitrate a morality case. It's, like Reuters says, "draconian" and I'm sick of people getting the law involved in bedroom issues.

Adultery is awful but that's for the couple to deal with, it's not for the courts to judge and throw someone into JAIL over.

"I think it’s like parents here sometimes going after a teenager with statutory rape accusations, when the age difference was normal and sexual relations were consensual."

In this case, yes. However, not all.

Sam, different strokes for different folks... or countries. Seriously, though, there are many laws in the states that could be considered morality based, such as public indecency. It all depends on where the government draws the line. [~however, yeah, this would be a private matter, and up to the spouse to 'tell on' the other, and also have proof... ie way more trouble than it's worth.~]

I remember a friend telling me how Korea's divorce rate used to be so low before American movies and media became popular. :'(

"the Constitutional Court" are a bunch of putos.

numberoneoppa: Yeah.... your comment on Americans being 'horrible people' isn't prejudiced at all. Oh wait, you added 'for the most part' so I guess that makes it okay.

I don't really understand where you get the idea cheating is akin to being American. If you look at it from a perspective of thinking Americans as being more sexual and open with sexuality, than you must be condemning many other countries too, such as the vast majority of European countries which are considered on a whole to be more sexual liberated than the States and generally think of the States as being a little too conservative and 'prude' to their tastes.

Even then, the whole concept of cheating is not a trait that can really be applied to any one ethnic group, race, or nationality. When somebody who is Korean cheats on their partner, I highly doubt they are thinking, "Oh, well, I'm going to be more American and cheat." Again, cheating is NOT a nationality/race thing, it's a HUMAN thing.

Although the States definitely have a large number of problems, it isn't as though Korea is squeaky clean either. Just looking at the entertainment industry in Korea, you can see some of the social problems prevalent there, from the extreme focus on body image to the unusual number of suicides. However, this in no way means Korea is any worse a country than the States, and if I were to make such a judgment call like that, it would be vastly unfair of me to do so.

It is one thing to have differing opinions, but please be respectful and not so close-minded to condemn others so easily.

"Although the States definitely have a large number of problems, it isn’t as though Korea is squeaky clean either. Just looking at the entertainment industry in Korea, you can see some of the social problems prevalent there, from the extreme focus on body image to the unusual number of suicides"

Yeah, but see, these type of discussions turn into "my country" vs. "your country" arguments anyway. (Just like Koreans have us for, uhhh, eating mad cows?!?) I see a lot of "What's Wrong with Korea!!" posts over in other sites, and (though I don't necessary disagree with the specifics) it makes my eyes roll due to all the Fox News-style jingoism.

Adultery is still illegal in many states here. And in Utah and Florida(!!!??!!??!!@$!@#%#%!@#!@!), you can still go to jail for it. God bless the United States of Jesusland. :D

I don't agree with the law, I'm of the opinion that if your partner cheats on you then just leave them, they're not worth your time. I wouldn't wast my energy trying to send my girlfriend to jail and what not.

But I wouldn't mind seeing her serve some time. I mean she knew about the law when she had the affair and she knew the law when she admitted to having the affair. If she no longer wanted to be with her husband, why didn't she just leave him? There's no law that says you have to be married.

This is ridiculous. I'm not Korean, but from what I've seen in the plot lines for Korean dramas, it seems that male infidelity is pretty common. For example, that drama "My Husband's Woman" (I'm translating from its Chinese title) was all about the husband's affair and how there is a double standard for women who are divorced (it's a huge stigma for women to be divorced but it's accepted as normal if the man is divorced).

Sending women to jail for adultery seems so outdated and just plain stupid. This is a crappy double standard because I doubt any men have been imprisoned for having an affair.

Wow, Mr. Park Chul have the heart...No mercy on your ex wife.... they've got one daughter together...OMG...

"Yeah, but see, these type of discussions turn into “my country” vs. “your country” arguments anyway. (Just like Koreans have us for, uhhh, eating mad cows?!?) I see a lot of “What’s Wrong with Korea!!” posts over in other sites, and (though I don’t necessary disagree with the specifics) it makes my eyes roll due to all the Fox News-style jingoism."

I completely agree with you. There are lots of things that I think are wrong with Korea, but there are also a LOT of things I think are wrong with the States. I don't feel discussing what country is better or whatnot is at all necessary, especially as most people discussing the countries probably know very little about what they are discussing or are misinformed.

As a person whose knowledge of Korea comes primarily from Korean dramas and accounts of Korean friends, I would have to say what I perceive to know is probably not at all demonstrative of the whole. Even as a resident of the states, what I perceive about the states as a Californian is entirely different from what a native resident of Utah would perceive.

So when I hear statements like "It saddens me to see Korea becoming more and more like the United States everyday. They just don’t realize that Americans are for the most part, horrible people who should not be copied.", I find it highly offensive and would find it offensive if it were for any other country as well, be it Iran, China, etc.

As it seems you guys didn't full comprehend my comments, I'll rephrase, American // western media throughout the years has drastically affected Korea (in what I think is an adverse way). Of course, adultery is probably not related to this; however, the ideology that makes it seem an acceptable thing to do (and therefore more prevalent) probably is.

Oh, and I don't know why you would find my comments so offensive, perhaps you haven't realized, but American values went down the drain (at least for those under ~30 years of age) for the most part a long time ago. Perhaps it's just my bad luck, but it seems good people in this country are becoming harder and harder to come upon.

And my primary source of knowledge of Korea is definately not dramas, thanks for the laugh though.

Oh, and by the way, I'm not saying that the States hasn't done wonders for Korea (positively). Just not in the case of moral issues in recent years.

i totally agree with arlie (#6).

numberoneoppa, globalism is a two-way street. It's not like Western culture creates vices and the rest of the world (like Korea) suddenly becomes more morally corrupt when they're exposed. That's what your statement suggests: "American // western media throughout the years has drastically affected Korea (in what I think is an adverse way)"

Everything affects everything, and I think your argument is pretty narrow-minded. Korean society has dealt with adultery for as long as Western society, and it's not like watching Americans cheat in movies makes Korean people more susceptible to cheating. Maybe this is more an issue of changing times, not "East is better than West."

"But I wouldn’t mind seeing her serve some time. I mean she knew about the law when she had the affair and she knew the law when she admitted to having the affair"

But if you prosecute her and not anyone else, it's like society is trying to make an example of her. I think the punishment should fit the crime, and this is not fitting of the crime.

i don't understand how the courts can prosecute her and not the others found guilty of adultery yet skipped jail time? did she just present her case poorly? she could've collected evidence of her husband's trips to the room salons. in this case media definitely worked against her -- all those salacious stories about her and big foreign chef making a joke out of "quietly suffering korean husband"...hmm mm!

numberoneoppa: If you read my comment carefully, you'll realize that in no way was I implying your knowledge of Korea was based on dramas or the like, but that MINE was and so it would be unfair for me to really discuss Korea issues to any deeper degree. (However, it does seem to me that your knowledge of the States is a little lacking and perhaps based on American tv/movies for you to be making such drastic statements.)

Other than that, I really have on interest in furthering this discussion on my part because it wouldn't get anywhere.

arlie, my sincere apologies. Oh, and my knowledge of the states is not lacking at all, trust me :)

numberoneoppa, cool beans.

Hmmm... your post made me stop and think long about the adultery laws we have here in my own country (Philippines). I guess I am so used to the existence of a law which actually penalizes adultery/concubinage that I forgot to reconsider its social relevance and necessity.

For a predominantly Catholic nation such as mine, a law criminally punishing adultery seems to be more accepted and expected.

Oh, well. It really depends on the culture and society wherein the law is applied.

if you calculate the ratio between the number of men who commit adultery as opposed to women, it'll be even more apparent that this particular law is sexist. though i don't support spouses cheating on one another (unless one was getting abused physically or verbally), i really can't come to accept it.

if you can't tolerate your significant other, then divorce them. but of course, easier said than done. i'm from the states and i have to say it's incredibly easy to divorce someone here. however, i have learned that the law in hong kong only allows a couple to be divorced if both parties are willing, so nothing much can be done there.

i just gotta say that this is totally sexist. i bet if it were a man, nothing would happen; he'd just be in the tabloids for a few days and get cursed at.

wow what an ironic example of how this law is applied!
really!
man, she must be soo embarrassed .
they should just go old school and use fists

we have the same laws here in my country where the adulterers actually go to jail, it's just too bad that Ok is a public figure and admitting to what she did became a big issue, but I can't understand the double standard that when Men cheat is just okay but when Women cheat, it's a big taboo

@ your average girl

I think it's very dangerous to judge a country based on it's media. I'm sure there are just as many tv shows about women cheating as well...

And like belleza mentioned, there are several states in the US that have similar adultery laws. For example, in Illinois adultery is a 5 year prison sentence. In Utah, it's 3 years. In Florida it's 2 years, etc...

If I may jump in, I'd like to make a point about adultery in America and Korea:
"American // western media throughout the years has drastically affected Korea (in what I think is an adverse way). Of course, adultery is probably not related to this; however, the ideology that makes it seem an acceptable thing to do (and therefore more prevalent) probably is."

While I won't disagree that American media has made sexuality in general more prevalent and accepted in Korean society, I don't know if I believe it made adultery more prevalent You see, it's been happening in every country in which marriage exists for hundreds of years - men and women sleep with people other than their spouses. As javabeans pointed out, there's plenty of prostitution in Korea, and it's been there for quite some time. American media might have made it more socially acceptable to discuss and perhaps more socially acceptable for women - horror of horrors! - to commit adultery too. But has adultery risen because of America's influence? I'm not sure.

By the way, incardine, you've given me food for thought with your comment.

I guess So-ri is sorry now... Get it? So-ri = Sorry...haha..

And yet another Winnie...
I've noticed that most of the comments are political, but I 'd like some backstory on this. Why did she confess? I feel bad for her, but she should have divorced or just kept secret about it.
Furthermore, I don't feel like one example that has been publicized like this should be representative of a whole nation.