"Inmate Human Rights Violations"... National Human Rights Commission Recommends Ministry of Justice to Adhere to Investigation Acceptance Principles

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has recommended that the Minister of Justice and correctional facilities strengthen compliance with the principle of due process in disciplinary confinement to ensure that the right to life of inmates is not violated in correctional institutions.

On the 8th, the NHRCK announced that it recommended the Minister of Justice, the warden of Prison A?where a recent inmate death occurred due to inadequate protective measures?and the prison warden to comply with the principle of due process in managing mentally ill inmates and during disciplinary confinement. Disciplinary confinement refers to the procedure of isolating an inmate who has committed a disciplinary violation in a separate location for investigation.

The NHRCK pointed out that Prison A recently imposed disciplinary confinement on a victim who had not violated any rules, and during this process, failed to prevent the inmate from taking extreme measures due to insufficient protective management. The inmate who died during disciplinary confinement was known to have symptoms of mental illness. However, it was confirmed that the prison, despite being aware of this, had preemptively administered psychotropic drugs.

In response, Prison A stated to the NHRCK, "The victim was placed in disciplinary confinement for disobeying orders and obstructing work," and added, "Since the situation did not warrant designation as a subject of concern, no separate measures were considered."

However, the NHRCK criticized, "The prison violated the principle of due process by failing to notify the inmate in advance of the violation that led to disciplinary confinement and by not informing them of the objection procedure," and stated, "This caused the victim to experience feelings of powerlessness and frustration due to prolonged restriction of physical liberty."

The NHRCK recommended that the warden of Prison A strengthen protective measures such as emergency preventive counseling for mentally ill inmates to prevent recurrence of such incidents within correctional facilities. It also recommended that the Ministry of Justice implement psychological treatment programs for mentally ill pretrial detainees and adhere to the principle of due process during disciplinary confinement.

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