Shortage of Inmate Space at Busan Detention Center... Requests to "Refrain from Arrests"

Female Inmate Occupancy Rate Reaches 200%
Busan Detention Center Requests Restraint in Detention Warrants Amid Severe Overcrowding

Busan Detention Center, suffering from overcrowding, recently sent an official letter to the judiciary and investigative agencies requesting restraint in detaining suspects, a fact that has come to light belatedly. Despite the severity of the overcrowding issue, discussions about relocating the detention center have made no progress even after the recommendation from the site selection committee.

On the 17th, Yonhap News reported, citing correctional authorities, that at the end of last year, Busan Detention Center sent an official letter titled 'Request for Cooperation Regarding Overcrowding at Busan Detention Center' to the prosecution, police, and courts.

Busan Detention Center. Provided by Sasang District Office

The letter contained a request for investigative agencies to carefully consider filing detention warrants due to the saturation of detainees at the detention center, and for courts to actively cooperate with requests for release such as bail or suspension of detention execution.

The capacity of Busan Detention Center is 1,480 inmates, but as of the end of last month, the number of detainees was about 2,200, reaching 150% of capacity. In particular, the female detainee occupancy rate is reported to be as high as 200%. Although the overcrowding has persisted for a long time, it is said that the level of overcrowding has exceeded a certain threshold in the past year, prompting the issuance of the cooperation letter. This is the first time since COVID-19 that Busan Detention Center has sent such a letter to the prosecution and courts.

Built in 1973, Busan Detention Center is not only overcrowded but also severely aged, recording the highest inmate mortality rate nationwide in 2016.

Busan Correctional Institution in Daejeo-dong, Seo-gu, Busan, is also an aging facility over 48 years old, making it difficult to guarantee the safety of the building, and due to severe overcrowding, it fails to protect the human rights of inmates.

After the Constitutional Court ruled in 2016 that overcrowding in correctional facilities hinders the rehabilitation of prisoners and violates human dignity and value, the controversy over overcrowding intensified.

In a 2017 damages lawsuit filed by plaintiffs detained at Busan Detention Center against the government, the Busan High Court ordered the government to pay 1.5 million and 3 million won respectively. Since then, similar rulings have followed, increasing the social costs incurred.

In response, Busan City formed the Busan Correctional Facility Site Selection Committee to modernize correctional facilities, a long-standing issue, and in November 2023, proposed a plan to integrate and relocate the detention center, correctional institution, and probation office to the Daejeo 1-dong area in Gangseo-gu. However, Gangseo-gu and local political circles, along with residents, denied the committee itself, claiming it has no legal or administrative authority. As a result, one year after the relocation recommendation, Busan City has yet to even hold a residents' briefing session.

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