‘We risk our safety’: Inmate assaults on prison officers rise sharply
A prison officer is seen in this file photo. Korea Times file
The number of assaults in South Korean correctional facilities has more than doubled over the past decade, with incidents on correctional officers by inmates nearly quadrupling and a growing number of officers suffering from physical and mental health issues.
According to Ministry of Justice data released on June 5, correctional incidents — including escapes, attempted escapes, violations of court orders, sudden deaths, suicides, fires and assaults — rose from 837 cases in 2014 to 1,795 in 2023. Assaults on staff by inmates jumped from 49 in 2014 to 190 in 2023.
A ministry official said the rise stems from the increasing number of inmates compared to the relatively stagnant number of correctional officers. “The imbalance in personnel is contributing to this trend,” the official said.
Health concerns among correctional staff are also widespread. Working in confined spaces under a shift system that requires close, around-the-clock contact with inmates appears to be a major factor. In 2017, 71.7 percent of all correctional officers were found to have health abnormalities during general medical exams. The figure remained high in subsequent years: 66.2 percent in 2018, 71.5 percent in 2019, 72.3 percent in 2020, and 80.6 percent in 2021.
The suicide rate among correctional officers, driven by chronic job stress, is also alarming. From 2015 to 2023, the average annual suicide rate for officers stood at 0.025 percent — about 25 out of every 100,000 officers — which the ministry noted is higher than that of other uniformed professions such as firefighters and police.
A mental health survey conducted in February. 2024 on 5,600 correctional officers across 54 correctional facilities revealed that 19.6 percent (1,108 people) were in a “high-risk” mental health category. Of those, 2.8 percent said they had attempted suicide, and 6.7 percent said they had considered it — rates 1.6 times and 2.7 times higher, respectively, than the general adult population.
Since 1950, 94 correctional officers have died in the line of duty due to attacks by inmates, fatal altercations, overturned transport vehicles, or medical emergencies such as heart attacks and cerebral hemorrhages caused by exhausting 24-hour shifts.
One current prison officer emphasized the toll of the three-shift system still in place at many facilities, which alternates night duty, rest days, and regular shifts every three days. “We need to fully implement a four-shift system — day duty, night duty, rest, and off day — to improve working conditions,” the officer said.
Lee Woong-hyuk, a professor of police studies at Konkuk University, echoed the call for reform. “Expanding correctional facilities and improving working conditions for correctional staff are crucial steps,” he said. “These changes would also have a positive impact on inmate rehabilitation.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.