A South Korean court has struck down a 6-decade-old law criminalizing adultery.

In its decision on Thursday, the nine-member South Korea Constitutional Court ruled that adultery is not a crime, saying the state should not intervene in people's private lives.

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The 1953 law, which declared adultery a crime, punishes a cheating spouse of up to two years in prison.  In a 7-2 vote, members of South Korea's top court declared that law unconstitutional.

Presiding judge Park Han-Chul said times have changed as well as public's perception of individual's sexual rights.

"Even if adultery should be condemned as immoral, state power should not intervene in individuals' private lives," he said.

South Korea is one of only three countries in Asia that penalizes adulterous acts.  Since 2008, about 5,500 people have already been convicted of adultery. In 2014 alone, 892 were indicted on adultery charges.

But with thousands convicted, only a few are serving prison time.

"Recently, it was extremely rare for a person to serve a prison term for adultery," Lim Ji-bong, law professor at Sogang University in Seoul said.

"The number of indictments has decreased as charges are frequently dropped."

But some still defended the 60-year-old law saying its abolition will only encourage immorality.

Justice Ahn Chang-Ho, who read the dissenting opinion at the constitutional court, said criminalizing adultery is a tool that protects family's morals.

The law had been reviewed four times by the court and was repeatedly upheld.

Following the court's striking down the law banning adultery, shares of condom makers and morning after pills surged to the 15 percent daily limit gain.

Hyundai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, manufacturer of  birth control pills and pregnancy tests kits, was up 9.7 percent.

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