“All-night investigation without suspect"s consent is a violation of human rights”
NHRC recommends HR education to Songpa Police Investigators (03-31-2001)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended human rights education be given to all staff and investigators at the investigation department of the Songpa Police Station. Kim (male, 35) filed a petition on July 12, 2002 stating that he made a false confession after an all-night investigation during which he was verbally and physically abused by two detectives, Assistant Investigator Park and Inspector Kim, at the Seoul Songpa Police Station.
According to the petition submitted to the NHRC, Petitioner Kim was arrested on charges of burglary and attempted rape and was subject to all-night interrogation at Songpa Police Station. Kim was handcuffed and dragged to an interrogation room with no windows in the investigation department until about 5:50 am on December 19, 2001, where he was verbally abused; he was the victim of brutal treatment when he was kicked and stomped on; he was subject to all-night interrogation; and he falsely confessed to burglary.
The NHRC findings regarding this case are as follows:
Firstly, regarding the claim of verbal abuse, Assistant Investigator Park, the accused in the petition, admitted that he yelled, "Tell me the truth, you little sh*t," to the petitioner in order to force him to confess during the interrogation on December 18, 2001 at around 10 am, and said he would not use verbally abusive language in the future. The NHRC concluded that the respondent’s actions are in violation of Article 12, Clause 7 of the Constitution and Article 309 of the Criminal Procedure Act which stipulates, ‘the right to confess without force.’ However, given that the accused admitted his wrongdoing and is reflecting on his actions, the NHRC recommended human rights education for the investigation department staff, including the accused, at the Songpa Police Station in accordance with Article 44 of the National Human Rights Commission Act.
Secondly, regarding the claim of all-night interrogation, the NHRC examined night-shift working documents of the Songpa Police Station, the daily log of investigators, documents regarding suspect"s arrest and lock-up, interrogation and lock-up records, and interviewed Assistant Investigator Park. During this process, Assistant Investigator Park stated, “we conducted an all-night interrogation from 10 pm on 18 December 2001 to 4:00 or 5:00 am the next morning," while asserting that an all-night interrogation had been necessary. Regarding brutal treatment including verbal abuse, the NHRC concluded that the petitioner did not have free consent. While taking into consideration the necessity of all-night interrogation, the NHRC found the actions of the accuse violated the right of human dignity and worth and the right to pursue happiness (right to sleep and rest) as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, and recommended that the human rights education training include a section on a ban on all-night interrogations.
