28. The Committee was concerned about “continued overcrowding in correctional facilities, the amount of living space available to each inmate, which does not meet international standards, the insufficient number of prison staff and the insufficient access to medical care and to outside medical facilities” and recommended to take specific measures to address the issues in the concluding observation on the third to fifth periodic reports of Korea in 2017. 29. In case of overcrowding in correctional facilities, the minimum living space of for solitary confinement and the place of detention (for one person) is 5.40m2 and 3.40m2 (International Committee of the Red Cross), 4.65-5m2 and 7.20m2 (Japan), respectively, and 5.57m2 for solitary confinement in the U.S.. On the other hand, it is a mere 4.62m2 and 2.58m2 in Korea7 which leads to severe overcrowding in correctional institutions. The Constitutional Court has ruled that overcrowding is unconstitutional by violating the human dignity and value of the inmates (Constitutional Court Decision 2013Heonma142 Decided 29 December 2016). 30. The NHRCK conducted an ex officio investigation on detention facilities on 5 May 2018 and confirmed the issues of overcrowding and lack of manpower and facilities, and made recommendations including: implementation of preferential measures (the use of idle spaces, the expansion of living rooms for female inmates); construction and extension of correctional facilities by coming up with measures to persuade residents; active expansion of parole; reduction of pre-trial detention to implement the principle of investigation and trial without detention; establishment of a consultation committee to resolve the overcrowding of correctional facilities; regular notification of implementation status. 7 Recommendations on ex officio investigation of human rights violation of inmates by overcrowding in detention facilities (5 November 2018). 13