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Commission's Major Activities
measures thanks to the efforts of or mediation by the investigator
Meanwhile, looking at the number of complaints handled by type of institutions, the
Commission handled 2,652 complaints related to shelters, 2,202 to detention facilities, 1,239 to
police, and 715 to schools in 2017.
2. Examples of major complaints
A. Prosecution and police
● Use of handcuffs and rope during investigation
The Commission concluded that the use of handcuffs and rope on a prisoner during
investigation at a district public prosecutor’s office based on a vague assumption that the suspect
might run away crossed the line of minimal infringement, a requirement that must be respected
when limiting basic rights, and infringed upon the personal liberty of the suspect. Thus, on 28
February, it recommended the head of the branch of the district public prosecutor’s office to
conduct job training of prosecutors and investigative officers to prevent a similar recurrence in
the future.
The Commission referred to a precedent of the Constitutional Court that restraints shall, as
a principle rule, be removed during investigations and be used when there is a specific risk of
fleeing. Not removing handcuffs and rope during investigation by reason of vulnerability in the
structure of the interrogation room or a vague risk of the suspect fleeing is a violation of the
minimum infringement requirement that applies when limiting a person’s basic rights.
● Placement of police conscripts to perform beyond the scope of their assigned duty
On 22 June, the Commission recommended the Chief of the National Police Agency to
discontinue the practice of placing police conscript at rallies and demonstrations and review the
overall operation of the police conscript force. This recommendation came in response to largescale mobilization of police conscripts on the scene of rallies and demonstrations, and placing
them on the same first line of defense as career police officers to suppress demonstrators at
the same time, in the same area, and in the same way as career policemen. The Commission