The NHRCK (Chairperson Byung Chul Hyun) held a on 2013. 9. 27. (Fri) from 2PM to 5:20PM at the Human Rights Education Center, 10th floor of the NHRCK.
Disciplinary confinement refers to a form of disciplinary punishment in the military along with demotion, imposing leave limits, and probation. It detains soldiers in guardhouses within units or vessels for less than 15 days. According to the reports submitted before the NHRCK, annual number of those who were subjected to military confinement (as disciplinary punishment) was on the rise: with 12,223 in 2009; 12,912 in 2010; 15,464 in 2011; 21,225 in 2012 (for 2013, 8,520 as of June). Consequently, most of the military detainees are in confinement as disciplinary punishment. Based on the number of detainees accumulated from 2009 to June of 2013, 94.7% of the entire military detainees in the Korean Army, 91.5% of the Korean Navy, and 77.2% of the Korean Air Force are confined for disciplinary reasons, with the rest being prisoners on trial.
Concerning disciplinary detention in the military, there has been a number of complaints submitted before the NHRCK that confining soldiers under administrative punishment with prisoners on trial is fundamentally incoherent with constitutional principle of due process and rule of law, adding that there were concerns of human rights violation because treatment of detainees under disciplinary punishment was no better than the treatment of prisoners on trial.
Accordingly, the NHRCK held a forum of policy dialogue to explore the ways to promote coherence in public objectives via strengthening human rights protection of soldiers and establishing strong military command.
Military officials from the Ministry of Defense, civil society members and experts have joined the forum to examine the current legal and operational status of disciplinary confinement practices in the military. The forum will proceed with the legality of those practices under Article 12 of the Constitution that sets out principles on warrant requirements and due process, along with comparative review on foreign military cases.
In reflection of the views advanced during the forum, the NHRCK will announce measures of improvement for disciplinary confinement practices in the military.
