What did the National Human Rights Commission of Korea ask the justice minister to do about prison phone calls?

It asked for a revision to relevant laws so inmates can make phone calls in principle. It also advised expanding phone-call opportunities as much as possible before any revision is enacted, as long as correctional facility security is not harmed.

Why did prisoners complain about the Ministry of Justice phone-call rules?

They said the rules infringed on basic human rights after the ministry tightened access last year. One example cited was an inmate whose request to call his mother after lung cancer surgery was rejected because the call was said to be allowed only when a family member was critically ill or had died.

How did the new prison phone-call guidelines limit inmates?

The ministry barred serious criminals classified as S4 from phone calls, except twice a month in special circumstances. Other inmates classified as S1 to S3 were limited to five calls a month.

Justice minister advised to fully expand inmates' opportunities to make phone calls

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Summary

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea asked the justice minister to expand prisoners’ opportunities to make phone calls in principle. It said even serious criminals should be allowed to call as much as possible, so long as correctional facility security is not harmed. The commission issued the advice after a petition challenged Ministry of Justice guidelines that limited inmates’ phone use. Those guidelines barred S4 inmates from phone calls except twice a month under special circumstances and capped S1 to S3 inmates at five calls a month.

Key Facts

The commission said the new Ministry of Justice guidelines were implemented on Sept. 1 last year.
Under the guidelines, S4 inmates are banned from making phone calls except for two calls a month under special circumstances.
S1 to S3 inmates are limited to five phone calls a month.
Petitioners said an inmate was denied a call to his mother after her lung cancer surgery.
The commission said restricting telephones still does not conform to international human rights standards.

By Jun Ji-hye

Published Apr 10, 2024 8:18 am KST
Updated Apr 10, 2024 10:31 pm KST

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has asked the justice minister to draw up a measure to fully allow prisoners, including serious criminals, to make phone calls, as the use of telephones is recognized by the Constitution as one of the basic human rights needed to pursue happiness.

The commission also said many major countries have recognized prisoners’ use of telephones as one of the rights to communicate with people outside jails, along with visits and letters.

“We advised the justice minister to draw up a revision to relevant laws to allow inmates to make phone calls in principle,” the human rights watchdog, Tuesday.

“Even before the revision is enacted, the justice minister is advised to expand the opportunities of inmates, including serious criminals, to make phone calls as much as possible, within a range that the measure does not harm the security at correctional facilities.”

The commission issued the advice on Monday in response to a petition that prisoners' basic human rights have been infringed upon since the Ministry of Justice’s new guidelines were implemented on Sept. 1 last year.

Under the new guidelines, the ministry banned serious criminals — categorized as S4 level — from making phone calls. As an exception, they are allowed to make phone calls twice a month under special circumstances.

The ministry also restricted phone calls for other prisoners — categorized as S1 to S3 levels — to only five times a month.

According to petitioners, an inmate asked a prison officer to allow him to call his mother who underwent lung cancer surgery, but the officer rejected it, saying telephone use can be allowed only when a family member is in a critical condition or dies.

In their explanation submitted to the human rights watchdog, the justice ministry and prison officers said previous trial programs aimed at expanding telephone use for inmates were mostly abused as a means to destroy evidence or seek revenge.

However, the commission said that restricting the use of telephones still does not conform to international human rights standards.

Regarding concerns over abuse and misuse of expanded telephone use, it said, “The country already has a variety of measures to prevent such abuses.”

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