COVID-19 Outbreak in Detention Centers: How State-of-the-Art Facilities Created a 'Blind Spot'

A Facility Consisting of 5 Connected Buildings, Essentially a 'Single Building'... "Structure Prone to Spreading Across Entire Floors"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that began at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center is worsening.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 30th, the number of confirmed cases within the Eastern Detention Center, the epicenter of this cluster infection, increased by 17, bringing the total to 792. As of midnight on this day, the total number of confirmed cases in correctional facilities nationwide rose by 37 from the previous day to 837. Among them, 39 are staff members, and 798 are inmates including those who have been released. The number of confirmed cases at the Eastern Detention Center alone increased from 775 to 792, an increase of 17. This figure includes 21 internal staff, 409 inmates, and 362 transferred inmates.

Following the first death in a correctional facility, confirmed cases have also emerged among inmates transferred from the Eastern Detention Center to other correctional facilities, leading to calls to identify the cause in the structural problems of the facilities.

In fact, the Eastern Detention Center, built in 2017, is one of the most modern correctional facilities in South Korea. It consists of five 12-story buildings and is known as the most comfortable place for inmates to live among domestic correctional facilities.

However, the fact that most of the inmates' daily life takes place indoors has had the greatest impact on this situation. Unlike previous facilities with single-story buildings surrounding an exercise yard, the apartment-style structure connecting five buildings makes it vulnerable to infectious diseases like COVID-19, exhibiting all the so-called "3Cs" characteristics: crowded, close-contact, and confined spaces. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters also pointed to the building structure, where most activities must be conducted indoors, unlike other detention centers that guarantee outdoor activities through open exercise yards, as a cause.

The indoor environment is even more complex. Each building floor has an average of five zones, and each zone contains about 10 inmate rooms. Considering that all floors from the second basement to the 12th floor above ground are connected, all inmate rooms are concentrated within a single "connected building." This explains why, on the 19th, when 187 confirmed cases were reported at once at the Eastern Detention Center, 115 of them were from the 8th floor alone. A quarantine official explained, "If a confirmed case occurs, the infection can easily spread throughout the entire floor."

The nature of the detention center, where pretrial detainees who have not yet been sentenced live together, also contributed to the escalation of this situation. As of the 13th, the Eastern Detention Center housed 2,412 inmates, about 400 more than its capacity of 2,070. The Ministry of Justice stated that since 345 confirmed cases were recently transferred to Cheongsong, the density at the Eastern Detention Center does not exceed 120% even if new confirmed cases remain there, but considering that confirmed cases continue to emerge, additional measures are necessary.

The Ministry of Justice cannot avoid criticism for its failure in the initial response. Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Vice Minister Lee Yong-gu were embroiled in various controversies such as the disciplinary action against the Prosecutor General and the taxi driver assault incident, neglecting quarantine measures. Although Minister Choo visited the site before her resignation was accepted, criticism for not taking proactive measures has intensified.

Eventually, a blame game has broken out. The Ministry of Justice is shifting responsibility for the delay in testing all inmates to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Songpa District Office. In a statement, the Ministry said, "On the 14th, one inmate was confirmed positive, and the Eastern Detention Center actively requested testing all inmates during the epidemiological investigation. However, Seoul and Songpa expressed the opinion that 'testing all inmates does not seem very meaningful and it is better to decide based on future developments,' making it difficult to proceed with testing using their own budget. Subsequently, on the 16th, two staff members were confirmed positive, and it was confirmed that one of them had close contact with inmates while working as a caregiver at an external hospital. Therefore, the Eastern Detention Center requested Seoul and Songpa to conduct testing of all inmates, and on the 18th, an agreement was reached to conduct the testing," it claimed.

Seoul Metropolitan Government responded, "Whether to conduct a full investigation at the early stage of infection is a matter decided through consultation among four institutions based on the occurrence of cases, and it is not a structure where Seoul and Songpa can unilaterally decide the quarantine direction as the Ministry of Justice claims," rebutting the Ministry's statement.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice plans to conduct a fourth round of full testing for staff and inmates at the Eastern Detention Center within the day. The target is about 1,830 people.

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