Court strikes down controversial South Korean adultery law

Adultery is no longer illegal in South Korea, after the country's Constitutional Court struck down a more than 60-year-old law.

Violators of the law could previously be imprisoned for up to two years, and its validity had already been unsuccessfully challenged in the court four times.

On this occasion, seven of the nine justices on the bench determined the 1953 statute was unconstitutional.

Prosecutions under the law have been falling in recent years, with almost 5,500 people formerly arraigned on adultery charges in the past six years.

Meanwhile, prison terms have become rare, with 216 people jailed in 2004, but only 22 imprisoned since 2008.

The downward trend was partly a reflection of changing societal trends in a country where rapid modernisation has frequently clashed with traditionally conservative norms.

Under the law, adultery could only be prosecuted if an injured party complained, and any case was closed immediately if the plaintiff dropped the charge - a common occurrence that often involved a financial settlement.

The law was grounded in a belief that adultery challenged the social order and damaged families, but critics insisted it was outdated and represented state overreach into people's private lives.