Human Rights Commission: "Prosecutors' Travel Ban on Police Involved in Political Investigation Is a Human Rights Violation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The National Human Rights Commission has determined that the prosecution's travel ban on police officers under investigation for the 'Ulsan Mayor's directive investigation and election interference' case infringed on the constitutional right to freedom of residence and movement.

On the 29th, the Human Rights Commission announced that the prosecution's abuse of travel bans for investigative convenience constitutes a human rights violation and recommended that the Ministry of Justice improve the travel ban review system.

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested and obtained approval from the Ministry of Justice on December 2 last year to impose travel bans and 'notification exemption' measures, which do not inform the subjects of the travel ban, on police officer A and other suspects involved in the Ulsan mayor election interference allegations.

Unaware of the travel ban, A learned of the restriction late while processing departure procedures at the airport on January 24, 2020, intending to travel abroad with family, ultimately preventing the family trip.

A filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, stating, "I cooperated sincerely with the prosecution's investigation and posed no flight risk, yet I was unjustly subjected to a travel ban, violating my fundamental rights."

The Human Rights Commission judged, "There is no basis to believe the complainant would flee abroad, and he did not evade investigation, having already appeared before the prosecution and undergone lengthy questioning. The investigative practice of uniformly requesting travel bans simply because the case attracts public attention cannot be tolerated."

The Commission also found issues with the 'notification exemption' measure that withheld the travel ban from A. While extending A's travel ban period, the prosecution cited concerns that notifying A could reveal the investigation's commencement and lead to evasion. However, A had already appeared and been questioned by the prosecution at that time.

The Commission pointed out, "Although there are about 50,000 travel ban cases annually, only two staff members handle this work, making thorough review difficult. The current Ministry of Justice review cannot be seen as effectively controlling or regulating the abuse of travel bans."

The Human Rights Commission recommended that the Minister of Justice improve the review procedures and methods to ensure substantive review of travel bans and notification exemptions. It also advised the Prosecutor General to strictly manage and supervise to prevent abuse of travel bans for investigative convenience.

Additionally, the Commission recommended that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issue warnings to staff involved in requesting travel bans and notification exemptions in A's case and provide job training to prevent recurrence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.