Sudden Death of Inmate at Dongbu Detention Center... Ministry of Justice "Investigating Circumstances"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A detainee at Seoul Eastern Detention Center lost consciousness and collapsed earlier this month, later dying, prompting the Ministry of Justice to launch a thorough investigation into the exact circumstances.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 24th, at around 6:30 a.m. on the 8th, Im Mo (48), a pretrial detainee at the Eastern Detention Center, was found lying face down in a state of weak breathing and consciousness. The detention center staff performed emergency measures including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transported Im to the detention center’s designated hospital, but he ultimately passed away.

Regarding the controversy over the "six unidentified pills," the Ministry explained, "Im stated during the health check immediately after admission that he had no mental health or other health issues, but observations showed psychiatric problems such as severe swearing and incoherent speech from the evening of the admission day. Based on a specialist’s examination, he was prescribed and took psychiatric medication."

On claims about consent for the autopsy and pressure to cremate the body, the Ministry stated, "After death, under the direction of the prosecutor in charge at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, a warrant was issued and an autopsy was conducted at the Seoul Institute of Forensic Science. The verbal autopsy findings included 'old subdural hemorrhage and severe coronary artery sclerosis.' Typically, in cases of unnatural death, autopsies proceed under the court-issued warrant and prosecutorial investigation direction regardless of consent."

They continued, "Once the autopsy is complete, the body is handed over to the bereaved family, and there is a related regulation allowing support of up to 5 million KRW for funeral expenses, which was communicated to the family. This was an effort to show respect for the deceased. Therefore, reports claiming that cremation was pressured are not true."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice has instructed the Seoul Regional Correctional Office to investigate the circumstances of Im’s death clearly. They also plan to review the working conditions of the staff at the time and will take strict action if any issues are found.

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