Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Guards not accountable for all prision violence
By Kim Rahn
Correctional officers should not be held accountable for all violence occurring in prisons, according to the top court.
The Supreme Court upheld Monday a lower court’s ruling against a 29-year-old prison inmate surnamed Jang, who filed the compensation suit against the state, claiming prison guards neglected his being beaten by another inmate.
The plaintiff, who began a 12-year sentence at Eujeongbu Prison in Gyeonggi Province in 2008, fought with a former gang member during an exercise session on Aug. 13, 2009.
The unidentified convict struck Jang on the cheek three times, leading him to require medical treatment for three weeks.
Jang claims prison officers didn’t do anything while he was being beaten and neglected to watch the former gangster. He filed the suit, demanding the state pay 10 million won in compensation.
He also claimed his attacker threatened him and forced him to compose a written agreement and a petition for lenient punishment for the former gangster, demanding additional compensation from the state for neglecting the threats.
A lower court partially acknowledged the state’s responsibility, ordering it to pay 1.5 million won to Jang. But the higher court rejected all requests, saying correctional officers are not responsible for preventing all violence in prisons.
The top court said in the ruling: “The beating took place in the locker room after an exercise session for a short time, and prison guards regularly educate inmates to prevent violence. Considering this, it seems unreasonable that they could predict an attack would occur.”