Police to Add More Rooms for Recording Interrogations

The National Police Agency will set up 900 rooms at police stations nationwide for recording interrogations to prevent the torture of criminal suspects.

The agency devised the plan Saturday at a meeting chaired by its chief Kang Hee-rak to protect the human rights of suspects undergoing investigation. It will announce the project after a national meeting of police commissioners Monday.

The move comes in response to the alleged torture of suspects by police at Seoul’s Yangcheon district.

The rooms will have voice and image recording devices as well as two TV surveillance cameras to prevent manipulation and erasing of recorded materials.

The number of such rooms will be gradually expanded from 472 to 1,472 for a ratio of one room for every 10 investigators. If the plan is implemented, each of the 244 police stations nationwide will have six such rooms instead of two.

The police agency allocated one billion won (815,000 U.S. dollars) for this plan, with the setup of one room for electronic recording to cost 20 million won (16,300 dollars). Of the newly added rooms, 50 will be set up at police stations in major cities.

The rooms will be set up this year for investigation of major offenses such as narcotics trafficking in which abuse by police is likely, and then will gradually be set up for other criminals.

pjw@donga.com