교정시설 폭염 방치는 기본권 침해…수용자 19명 헌법소원 청구

Translation

A constitutional complaint has been filed asking the Constitutional Court to rule on whether failing to properly manage inmates who endure heatwaves in correctional facilities runs against the constitution. Three organisations — Hope and Law, the Public Interest and Human Rights Litigation Centre of Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), and the Catholic Human Rights Committee — held a press conference on 22 September, and the legal team filed the complaint with the Constitutional Court that day on behalf of 19 inmates at 12 correctional facilities nationwide. This is the first constitutional case to contest, as a group, the infringement of inmates' basic rights in heatwave conditions. The team asked the court to rule on whether continuing to hold the complainants in high-temperature cells without sufficient protection is unconstitutional; on whether the provisions of the Criminal Execution Act and the related guidelines adequately protect life and health; and on whether the failure to measure, record and keep temperature and humidity readings for the spaces where inmates actually live, and to guarantee a procedure for inmates to check them, is unconstitutional. Attorney Seo Chae-wan of Minbyun said inmates cannot sleep, wash or get treatment, and that older people with underlying conditions feel a direct threat to their life and health.