Angelica Eun-ah CHOI(Human Rights Activist), SARANGBANG Group for Human Rights
Although the South Korean government ratified the Convention Against Torture, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment of Punishment in 1995, it reserved the communication procedure that makes articles 21 and 22 possible. At that time human rights NGOs protested this move, but the government announced that Korea’s peculiar division mandated the reservation of this procedure.
Paragraphs 2 and 7 of article 12 in the Constitution provide that, “No citizen shall be tortured or compelled to testify against himself in criminal case” and that, “In a case where a confession is deemed to have been made against a defendant’s will due to torture, violence intimidation, unduly prolonged arrest, deceit, etc., or in a case where a confession is only evidence against a defendant in a formal trial, such a confession shall not be admitted as evidence of guilt, nor shall a defendant be punished by reason of such a confession.”
The Criminal Procedure Law also prohibits torture and other cruel inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, but police have a tendency to treat suspects as inhuman and in practice commit torture. Recent surveys conducted by NGOs indicate that while torture of prisoners of conscience has decreased, torture of non-political prisoners has prevailed. People of low social position, such as foreign labourers and the homeless, are exposed to an environment of torture. However not only such people are subject to abuse. In a recent case, protesting teachers holding a peaceful demonstration to demand enforcement of a collective bargaining agreement and normalization of public education were arrested, detained, strip-searched and forced to endure other humiliations. While strip-searching is technically legal, it is only so in cases where the search is relevant to the crime, which it was not in this instance.
Prevention of human rights violations requires just and fair punishment of perpetrators and compensation of victims. In this regard, Korea has a long and difficult way to go until it solves the problems of impunity.
Many people suffer in the aftermath of torture. They go to mental hospitals and commit suicide. In South Korea there are few doctors and hospitals able to treat people in the aftermath of torture. Medical jurisprudence to decide whether or not people are suffering due to torture has not been developed, so it is hard to win a suit in civil action, although in at least one recent case the plaintiff was successful.
In most cases police accused of torture have been released without charge or for lack of evidence. In 1999 Lee Gun-ahn, a notorious torture specialist, gave himself up. Now he is on trial. Apart from him, it is difficult to find and punish offenders in anonymously committed torture cases, as they are living under the authorities’ protection. It is therefore also important to investigate the powers that back torturers and make legal judgements in their regard.
As the government hasn’t shown that it will seriously attempt to solve victims’ problems, NGOs have felt the need to take initiative in this matter and have established the Korean Center for Human Rights (KCHR). The KCHR’s mandate is to investigate and rehabilitate victims of human rights abuse. Until the creation of the KCHR the aim of NGOs had been to reveal the actual human rights situation, resulting in economic and symbolic compensation to victims but leaving many still suffering both psychologically and physically. Particularly in the case of torture, not only the persons concerned but also their families suffer. With the establishment of the KCHR, they too can receive treatment.
To address torture:
1. Police must be educated about human rights and should learn not to force suspects to confess.
2. Offenders should be punished without an arraignment deadline.
3. It is necessary to compensate victims for medical treatment in special hospitals.
4. The government should inform citizens about the Convention through human rights education, whether via TV advertisements, the public education system, or other materials.
