Amnesty International Report 2003 - Republic of Korea

Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Head of state: Kim Dae-jung
Head of government: Kim Suk-soo (replaced Lee
Han-dong in October)
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: ratified

Detentions under the National Security Law (NSL) continued. At least 52 prisoners were believed to be under sentence of death; there were no executions. A bill submitted in 2001 calling for the abolition of the death penalty and supported by a majority in the National Assembly remained pending in the legislative timetable. Harassment and arrests of trade union leaders continued; at least 170 trade unionists were detained during the year. In June the immigration authorities adopted a tough stance against migrant workers; around 2,000 were reportedly arrested and several were reported to have been deported. Some 1,600 conscientious objectors were in prison, most of them Jehovah's Witnesses.

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Background

The last year of Kim Dae-jung's administration witnessed some progress in the promotion and protection of human rights, although this was limited by lack of legislative human rights reforms. In October, after Prime Minister Lee Han-dong resigned, the administration appointed Kim Suk-soo as Prime Minister after it failed to gain approval from the National Assembly for its preferred prime ministerial candidates. Presidential elections in December were won by Roh Moo-hyun; he will assume office in February 2003.

Inter-Korean relations were marked by a serious naval battle in June on the West Sea in which five sailors from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and an unknown number from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) were killed. In July North Korea expressed regret over the incident. Subsequently, there were two rounds of inter-ministerial talks; one in Seoul, capital of South Korea, the other in Pyongyang, capital of North Korea. Family reunions took place between separated families in May and September. In an unprecedented gesture, athletes from North Korea competed in the Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea, in September.

A Terrorism Prevention Bill proposed after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA and justified as a measure to increase security during the football World Cup in June and the Asian Games in September did not get the requisite number of votes in the National Assembly.

In November the Republic of Korea ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Death penalty

There were no executions – none had been carried out since President Kim Dae-jung, a former death row prisoner, took office in February 1998. It was believed that at least 52 prisoners convicted of murder remained under sentence of death. According to reports, death row prisoners continued to be handcuffed at all times for the first year after sentencing. In December, four death row prisoners had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Despite support from 155 members of the 273-member National Assembly, a bill calling for the abolition of the death penalty submitted in November 2001 appeared to have stalled during deliberations by the Standing Committee for Judiciary and Legislation.

National Security Law

The NSL continued to be used to imprison people for non-violent, political activities. The law provides for long sentences or the death penalty for "anti-state" and "espionage" activities, but these offences are not clearly defined and has often been used arbitrarily against people who have tried to exercise their basic rights to freedom of expression and association. Most arrests in 2002 were made under Article 7 of the law that provides for sentences of up to seven years' imprisonment for "praising" and "benefiting" the enemy (generally meaning North Korea). In November, at least 41 prisoners were reportedly being held under the NSL.

• In July Kim Kang-phil, an office worker at an IT company in Busan, was arrested without a warrant by 10 officers from the National Intelligence Service. He was detained in Seoul Detention Centre and charged under Article 7(5) of the NSL for possessing "enemy-benefiting materials" and "for the worship and praise of an enemy-benefiting group". In January he had expressed his support for the North Korean "Juche" ideology in e-mail discussions with a well-known scholar. In September the Seoul District Court sentenced him to one year's imprisonment plus one year suspended. He was released on 3 December after the Seoul High Court, on appeal, changed the sentence to a tw0-year suspended prison term. He lodged an appeal against this sentence before the Supreme Court.

Action against trade unionists

Harassment and arrests continued of trade union leaders who organized strikes and demonstrations to protect their basic rights. The trade unions were protesting against restructuring leading to mass redundancies, inadequate social welfare provision, failure to prosecute employers engaging in illegal termination of employment contracts, and the lack of effective consultation between the government, employers and trade unions. At least 170 trade unionists were arrested, including trade union leaders charged with calling "illegal" strike action and "obstructing company business".

• Trade union leader Dan Byung-ho, arrested in September 2001, continued to serve a two-year sentence in Seoul prison for violating the "Interference with business" clause of the Criminal Act and the Anti-Demonstration Law. His appeal against the sentence was not heard.

Conscientious objectors

About 1,600 conscientious objectors, most of them Jehovah's Witnesses, were in prison for their refusal to serve in the military on the basis of their religious beliefs. At least two men, one of them a Buddhist, were imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military on the basis of their pacifist ideals. Every year, about 500 men refuse to accept military conscription orders and are detained. The possibility of introducing alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors was considered by the Constitutional Court, but no decision was reached by the end of the year.

Torture and ill-treatment

There were reports of torture and ill-treatment in custody; at least one person reportedly died as a result.

• Cho Cheon-hoon, aged 32, died on 26 October during interrogation in the prosecution office in Seoul after he was arrested as a murder suspect. An autopsy report revealed that he died as a result of severe beatings.

Migrant workers

There were reports of government crack-downs on protests by migrant workers and of detained migrant workers being subjected to beatings and verbal abuse by law enforcement officials. Most of the 300,000 poorly paid migrant workers in the country, of whom around two thirds do not have the required documentation, continued to be exposed to poor and dangerous working conditions, and subjected to racial discrimination. In June the Ministry of Justice, the National Intelligence Service and the National Police Agency reportedly detained some 2,000 undocumented migrant workers. Several were reported to have been deported.

• On 2 September Mohammed Bidduth and Kabir Uddin were among 13 Bangladeshi migrant workers reportedly arrested at their house in Masok District by about nine immigration officials and 40 police officers. They were taken to Namyang-ju police station, some still in their sleeping clothes and many without footwear. Mohammed Bidduth and Kabir Uddin, leaders of a rally organized by members of the Equality Trade Union-Migrants Branch, were reportedly beaten. The two men were detained in Hwaseong Immigration Processing Centre for 80 days. They were released conditionally and told that they would have to leave the country by 20 January 2003.

Refugees

Only one person – a national from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – was granted refugee status during the year. Several opposition group members from Myanmar were among other asylum-seekers awaiting decisions on their applications. Immigration authorities reportedly discouraged asylum-seekers from lodging a claim for refugee status, and sometimes refused to register applications. People who did lodge an application were not given adequate information about the procedures, and immigration officials were reportedly unfamiliar with the principles of refugee recognition. Applicants for refugee status were not entitled to legal aid and were generally unable to obtain financial assistance for living costs.

Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths

The two-year tenure of the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths was extended for a further year on 14 November. The Commission was established in October 2000 to "[find] the truth on suspicious deaths that occurred in relation to the Democratization Movement against past authoritarian regimes".

National Human Rights Commission

The secretariat for the National Human Rights Commission was established in June. Concerns that the Commission lacked adequate investigative powers remained.

Visits

AI delegates visited the Republic of Korea in December.