Pursuant to Article 30(3) of the National Human Rights Commission Act, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) conducted suo-moto investigation into a fatal fire that broke out at the detention facilities of the Yeosu Immigration Office on February 11, 2007. On April 9, the NHRCK released its findings from the investigation, stating that the fire deaths of a number of migrant workers at a government immigration office were a grave violation of human rights. Considering the importance of the case, the Commission decided to launch an suo-moto investigation and subsequently reported its findings as below. In light of its findings, the NHRCK expressed regret to the minister of justice for his failure to implement its earlier recommendation to amend the Immigration Control Act (legal nature of custody, government employees’ obligation to give notice against illegal immigrants, etc.) and made the following recommendations.
Firstly, the NHRCK recommended to the minister of justice and the speaker of the National Assembly to amend the Immigration Control Act in connection with ‘custody.’ It also suggested to the minister of justice to improve the mandatory notification system by government employees, formulate and guarantee remedial procedures in favor of foreigners in custody, ameliorate detention facilities, enhance safety control for emergencies, upgrade professionalism and expand deployment of guards and warders, ensure fire safety in overall detention facilities, admonish those responsible for human rights violations in the process of dealing with the accident, and prevent recurrence of such events. In addition, the NHRCK respectively recommended the head of the Yeosu Immigration Office to improve remedial procedures for foreigners in custody; the minister of labor and the head of the Yeosu branch of the Gwangju Regional Labor Administration to substantively revamp the relief system for detained foreigners with back pay; the head of the National Emergency Management Agency to overhaul firefighting laws related to foreigner detention centers; and the head of the Yeosu police station to formulate measures to prevent recurrence of a violation of the required notification procedures to the bereaved families of victims subject to autopsy.
The fire at the detention facilities at the Yeosu Immigration Office constitutes a major human rights violation as it took the lives of many unregistered migrant workers. Since the date on which the fire occurred, the NHRCK has closely monitored the investigation by the prosecution and police. In addition, it conducted an investigation into related agencies and an extensive review of domestic and international standards as well as foreign practices regarding foreigners in custody. In particular, the NHRCK held a meeting with an activist from an NGO that conducted an investigation into an October 2005 fire at a foreigner detention center at Shiphol Airport, Netherlands and summoned the Specialized Committee on Foreigners’ Human Rights to hear the opinions of domestic experts.
According to its findings, only two externally hired guards were on duty on the third floor of the detention center at the Yeosu Immigration Office when the fire broke out. The detention quarters were structured and operated just like a prison, with doors double-locked. Among the victims, the foreigner under the longest custody had been accommodated at the center for 15 months, and most of the victims had over due payment. It turned out that the Yeosu branch of the Gwangju Regional Labor Administration failed to respect the principle of ‘notification following remedial actions’, a guideline set by the Ministry of Labor, and to comply with the requirements on back pay counseling. Furthermore, the Yeosu Immigration Office did not give the foreigners in its custody proper information on remedial procedures. It also failed to provide the suspected arsonist known as Kim (a 39-year-old male killed in the accident) counseling to hear complaints. In addition, the office carried out only perfunctory safety training for its employees and hired civilian guards, which meant that the initial response to the fire was extremely ineffective. Immediately after the fire broke out, some victims had to receive medical treatment while still handcuffed. In the process of departure from Korea of 22 victims of the accident, the office also failed to provide sufficient information on remedial procedures, deporting them without any psychological examination or treatment.
■ Major points of recommendations
- To the minister of labor and the speaker of the National Assembly
△ Suggested that the legal nature of ‘custody’ be specifically stipulated in the proposed amendment to the Immigration Control Act and declared that custodial measures might be taken to the minimum extent only when deemed necessary to restrict basic rights of foreigners in custody; and recommended that the Immigration Control Act be revised to specifically provide for the types and details of basic rights which may be limited as a result of custody, general rights that foreigners in custody are entitled to, their rights to meetings and communications, their right to file complaints, limitations on the exercise of physical force in custody, and their rights related to health, fasting, and medical treatment.
△ Recommended that the Immigration Control Act be amended to explicitly stipulate by law the principle of ‘notification following remedial actions’ in order to proactively rectify human rights issues against illegal aliens.
△ Recommended that provisions requiring immigration officers to notify foreigners in custody of their rights to protection by their consular offices be inserted in the proposed amendment to the Immigration Control Act.
- To the minister of justice
△ Recommended that safety measures and practical training methods be formulated for foreigners in custody to prepare for an emergency including a fire and that relevant regulations be revised to establish substantive safety measures for them.
△ Recommended that improvement measures be formulated to enhance the professionalism of guards and warders and increase manpower.
△ Recommended that facilities at a foreigner detention center including compartments and mattress be made of noncombustible materials and that fire safety at the facilities be promoted.
△ Recommended that a warning be issued to the head of the Cheongju foreigner detention center, who failed to provide sufficient explanations about available relief to the deportable victims in custody and merely deported them without psychological examination or treatment prior to their departure, and that measures to prevent recurrence of similar actions be established.
△ Recommended that the officers who handcuffed the victims hospitalized in an emergency room and the head of the Yeosu Immigration Office be admonished and that measures to prevent any recurrence of similar actions be formulated.
- To the minister of justice and the head of the Yeosu Immigration Office
△ Recommended that measures to prevent recurrence of such accident be established including employee firefighting and safety training for foreigners in custody and formulation of general safety actions for foreigners in custody.
- To the head of the Yeosu Immigration Office
△ Recommended that institutional improvements be introduced to prevent any violation of the right to know of foreigners in custody by advising them of possible remedies in a language understandable to them and that relevant employees be properly trained.
- To the minister of labor
△ Recommended that a remedial system for foreigners in custody with overdue payment be practically revamped so as to prevent them from being unfairly detained for an extended period of time without being able to claim their rights.
- To the head of the Yeosu branch of the Gwangju Regional Labor Administration
△ Recommended that substantive measures be formulated to resolve the issue of overdue payment involving foreigners in custody and that measures to prevent recurrence of a similar accident be devised.
- To the head of the National Emergency Management Agency
△ Recommended that the provisions defining “correctional facilities (limitations on physical freedom) and “facilities accommodating the elderly and children (unfree or restricted movement due to physical or facilities characteristics)”, which partly reflect the characteristics of “foreigner detention centers” under the Installation, Maintenance, and Safety Control of Fire-Fighting System Act be further clarified and that specific firefighting measures be formulated in said Act on the basis of the unique nature of “correctional facilities,” “business facilities,” and “facilities accommodating the elderly and children.”
- To the head of the Yeosu police station
△ Informed that the execution of autopsies of the victims of the accident without giving notice to their bereaved families constituted a breach of Article 141(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act, even though they were foreigners killed in a fire while in the custody of a government agency, and recommended that measures to prevent recurrence of such act be formulated.
The NHRCK recognized that such accidents as the fire at the Yeosu Immigration Office can hardly be prevented without fundamental improvement in institutional schemes and practices of the agencies concerned regarding their overall foreigner custody system. Accordingly, the NHRCK issued recommendations to the organizations concerned from the perspective of (i) practices and policies on detention and treatment of foreigners that had been regarded as requiring correction; and (ii) the direct cause of the fire and problems with the process of response to the accident.
The NHRCK will continue to proactively conduct suo-moto investigations into human rights abuses and discriminatory practices against migrants in the future.
