People Power Party: "Inmates are also citizens... National investigation and hearing needed for Dongbu Detention Center"

People Power Party Judiciary Committee Members Urge at Press Conference

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee have called for a national investigation and hearing on the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, they held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "This incident is a clear man-made disaster caused by incompetence, indifference, and lack of measures, and it is a backward country-type disaster that has lowered the national dignity of the Republic of Korea. Therefore, responsibility must be thoroughly and strictly investigated," and added, "We demand a national investigation and hearing."

They continued, "Inmates in correctional facilities are also bona fide citizens of the Republic of Korea. Since the group infection in the detention center is ongoing, urgent measures such as a comprehensive reinspection of correctional facilities and improvement of poor hygiene must be prepared," urging action.

They also emphasized, "Most detainees in the detention center are pretrial detainees, and under the 'presumption of innocence' principle, they are not criminals, so the shock and anger over this incident are even greater," adding, "Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae only posted what she called measures on Facebook yesterday, but it is nothing more than a shortsighted and belated response."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom, speaking to reporters immediately after the press conference, said, "In the Sewol ferry disaster, Coast Guard officials who were not active in rescue operations were held responsible as accomplices to professional negligence resulting in death," and added, "In the case of the Dongbu Detention Center, since the Ministry of Justice correctional authorities are primarily responsible for management, compared to the Sewol ferry disaster, they cannot avoid responsibility for professional negligence causing injury or death."

Earlier, People Power Party spokesperson Bae Jun-young urged President Moon Jae-in to apologize in a statement that day. He criticized, "It is regrettable that the president, who is a human rights lawyer by background, has not personally inspected the site and apologized to the public even today," and said, "This Dongbu Detention Center COVID-19 incident is a dereliction of duty toward vulnerable citizens, and the public officials involved must bear civil and criminal legal responsibility for both the 'past' and 'future' situations."

Meanwhile, on the same day, 121 additional COVID-19 cases were confirmed at Dongbu Detention Center, bringing the total confirmed cases there to 1,084. The total number of COVID-19 cases in correctional facilities nationwide is 1,108.

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