A Detention Center in Busan. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of phone calls allowed for inmates at South Korean prisons will be greatly increased.
The Ministry of Justice announced a plan to increase the number of phone calls allowed for inmates at six prisons on a trial basis starting from August as part of efforts to strengthen their right to contact with the outside world.
The number of phone calls allowed for inmates on a monthly basis will range from five to 30 depending on the grade of treatment.
For the highest ‘open treatment’ grade, the number of phone calls allowed on a monthly basis will be increased from five to 30.
Inmates who were previously prohibited from using the phone will also be able to make phone calls.
Taking the fairness of inmate treatment into account, the duration of phone calls will be set within five minutes but can be adjusted flexibly depending on the situation.
The method of monitoring inmates’ phone calls will also be changed from wiretapping by prison guards to automatic recording and preservation of content that will be checked ex-post if problems occur.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
