ABSTRACT

As one of the earliest countries to identify cases of COVID-19 infection, South Korea is often considered a success story in responding to the global pandemic. This article examines South Korea’s responses in terms of its incarcerated population during the crisis, provides a snapshot of how the coronavirus has impacted prisons, and outlines the mitigation strategies used to create COVID-19-safe spaces in the country. With correction officers being identified as some of the earliest COVID-19 cases in the country, South Korea has striven to manage the coronavirus in correctional facilities as part of the ecosystem of the entire country. This paper discusses South Korea’s unique strategy, which focuses less on the size of the prison population and more on treating correction officers and prisoners, who also need to be protected from the virus. In particular, this paper analyzes the multifaceted strategies adopted by South Korea to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus within the criminal justice system, and specifically to protect inmates and correction officers from infection. Strategies centered on public health and human rights were implemented, combined with in-prison strategies, modestly downsizing the prison population and/or maintaining the status quo during the pandemic.

摘要

作为最早发现COVID-19感染病例的国家之一，韩国通常被视为应对全球大流行病的成功典范。本文从危机期间韩国被关押人口的角度审查了韩国的反应，概述了冠状病毒如何影响监狱，并概述了用于在该国创建COVID-19安全空间的缓解策略。随着惩教人员被确认为该国最早的COVID-19病例，韩国已努力管理惩教设施中的冠状病毒，这是整个国家生态系统的一部分。本文讨论了韩国的独特策略，该策略较少关注监狱人口的大小，而更多地关注了惩戒人员和囚犯的治疗，这些人也需要受到病毒的保护。特别是，本文分析了韩国为减轻冠状病毒在刑事司法系统内的传播而采取的多方面战略，特别是保护了囚犯和惩教人员免受感染。实施了以公共卫生和人权为中心的战略，并结合了监狱内战略，适度减少了监狱人口的规模和/或在大流行期间维持了现状。