Supreme Court's First Ruling: State Must Compensate for Overcrowding in Correctional Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that overcrowding inmates in correctional facilities such as prisons or detention centers with less than 2㎡ of space per inmate constitutes an illegal act that infringes on human dignity and value.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) confirmed the appellate court's partial ruling in favor of the plaintiffs A and B in their damages claim lawsuit against the state yesterday. The court stated, "Housing inmates in correctional facilities that lack essential and basic facilities necessary for human survival infringes on human dignity and value," adding, "This can be considered an illegal act."

Furthermore, the court emphasized that overcrowding itself constitutes a 'human rights violation' unless there are special circumstances such as a temporary overcrowding situation caused by an unexpected surge in the inmate population.

Previously, A was detained in a detention center from February to September 2008, and B was held in a detention center and prison from June 2008 to July 2011. They filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming physical and mental suffering due to living in cramped spaces with other inmates.

The first trial dismissed their claims, but the second trial had a different judgment. The appellate court set the minimum space per inmate in correctional facilities at 2㎡ and ruled that the state must compensate for the period during which A and B were confined in spaces smaller than this standard. A, who was confined in a space less than 2㎡ for 186 days, was awarded 1.5 million KRW, and B, confined for 323 days, was awarded 3 million KRW in damages.

This was the first state compensation ruling following the Constitutional Court's 2016 decision that housing inmates in detention center rooms below a certain size infringes on human dignity and value and is unconstitutional.

Previously, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jaehyung) also made the same ruling in the case of C, who was detained in a detention center from 2017 to 2018.

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