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brutal random killing of a woman that occurred in the Gangnam district on 17 May. At that time,
the Commission expressed its opinion against the protective custody of those whose medical
treatment and custody has expired.
While recognizing instances in which additional supervision might be needed in some
instances, as outlined in the revised bill of the Ministry of Justice, the Commission noted that the
supervision and control of all those whose medical treatment and custody has expired without
consideration of the likelihood or cause of a repeated crime, or appropriate measures taken, is
not desirable as it relies upon the social stigma that all mental patients are dangerous. It also
advised that the compliance requirements regarding protective custody and the penalty clause
Part II
for non-compliance be removed.
On 10 November, the Commission expressed its opinion that the bill on protective custody,
announced for enactment on 31 October by the Ministry of Justice, is not desirable.
Through recommendations to abolish the old Social Protection Act (January 2004) and
opinions regarding the Protective Custody bill (December 2014), the Commission had
consistently argued that protective custody most likely constituted repeated punishment as it
essentially deprived a subject from liberty, and that there were no clear and specific criteria for
determining the likelihood of repeated crimes, which is a condition for a protective custody
order.
The Commission’s view was that the newly proposed bill was not significantly different from
the legislative bill of 2014, and that the same issues that it had raised in its opinions of 2014
still remained, including the issue of repeated punishment, conditions for protective custody
order and procedural problems. Thus, it expressed its opinion that, despite agreeing to the
government’s intent to eradicate violent crimes, the legislation of the proposed bill would not be
desirable as it warrants a more careful review prior to its introduction as it may severely limit
personal liberty and the freedom of residential mobility guaranteed by the Constitution.
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Commission's Major Activities
C. Opinion on the Protective Custody Bill