NHRCK launched an investigation into a case in which a female inmate committed a suicide after having been sexually assaulted by a correction officer at Seoul Detention Center in February. As well as arraigning Lee, the 57-year-old male officer, the Commission will urge Attorney General to chastise the officials at the detention center and Seoul Regional Correction Headquarters who downplayed and concealed the incident. Also, the Commission will review the legislation, institutions, policies, and practices relevant to the human rights of female inmates and suggest amendment to Attorney General.
The case came into light when a female inmate at Seoul Detention Center attempted a suicide on February 19th, following a report that she had been sexually molested by Lee during a classification on February 1st. According to the official report by the Ministry of Justice, the suicide was rather related to her self-despair than to the assault itself and Lee only tried to console her by holding her hand.
An investigation by NHRCK, however, revealed that Lee actually molested the inmate by holding and touching her in the closed classification room. The commission learned that several other inmates had also been assaulted by him in the past.
NHRCK determined that the severe aftereffect such as acute traumatic stress disorder led the inmate to attempt a suicide. It is reported that she had said, " It feels like the ceiling comes down on me. I keep tossing and turning in bed. I had a nightmare in which I was chased by a person with glasses. I can’t breathe. I can" t fall asleep." In addition, she had lost the ability to control her urinary urge. Psychiatric diagnosis showed that she had " strong victimization complex, suicidal thoughts, loss of emotional control, and anger."
NHRCK came to a conclusion that the sexual assault followed by concealment of the incident by Seoul Detention Center and Seoul Regional Correction Headquarters and inappropriate treatment of the inmate led her to commit a suicide. The Commission determined that the incident constitutes the violations of personal right, right to pursue happiness, and right to life guaranteed by the Constitution (Article 10) and corresponds to the infringement of equal rights (sexual molestation) under the 11th article of the Constitution.
NHRCK recommended Attorney General to review and revise the laws and systems to ensure female inmates" human rights by increasing female correction officers and establishing a complaint processing system to protect female inmates from potential sexual assaults.
The incident prompted NHRCK to visit Suwon Detention Center, Chungju Women’s Correctional Institution, Gwangju Correctional Institution, Busan Correctional Institution, Daegu Correctional Institution to inspect the treatment of female inmates and prevent sexual violences against them. The inspection consisted of surveys and in-depth interviews on the complete array of their lives in custody including physical examination, classification process and medical care.
