Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback National Human Rights Commission of Korea - Complaint Summaries

Violation of Personal Liberty due to Dereliction of Duty by Police Station [2005] KRNHRC 15 (1 February 2005)

In February 2005, the victims "escaped" from Foster Agency and went to Police
Station to report illegal detention and violence at the foster agency. The victims
pleaded to the police to send them to their homes because the director of the foster
agency would kill them if they returned to the agency. The police, nevertheless, sent
them back to the agency, and the director of the agency assaulted them.

According to the Police Duty Enforcement Regulation, in circumstances such as when someone
escapes from a foster agency to evade brutality, the police have to take proper action
such as seek help from a medical institution or keep the victims safe inside the police
station. However, the police did not take any protective measure and returned them to
the foster agency in three and a half hours. Subsequently, the victims were illegally
detained without food and their human rights were denied.

The Commission recommended the head of the police officers to issue a warning to the
respondents and his supervisor. To prevent similar incidents in the future, the
Commission also recommended the head of the police officers to establish a chain of
command, conduct a human rights education program, and conduct periodic
inspections of non-licensed foster agencies.