The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on the 12th that the Korean National Police Agency and the Prosecution Service conveyed their intention to accept a recommendation to draw up measures to guarantee the defense rights of people with developmental disabilities.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) launched an ex officio investigation last year, interviewing 127 people with developmental disabilities at correctional facilities nationwide. Based on the findings, it recommended to the commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency that they: ▲ establish detailed provisions and procedures for all investigative steps involving people with developmental disabilities and enact "investigation rules for people with developmental disabilities"; ▲ review the current system of dedicated investigators for people with developmental disabilities and prepare measures to strengthen expertise; and ▲ collect and analyze statistics related to the dedicated investigator system and disclose them on a regular basis.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also recommended that the prosecutor general prepare concrete measures to make indictments easier to understand for people with developmental disabilities and others.
The Korean National Police Agency told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after the recommendation that it "plans to add a new provision related to interviews with people with developmental disabilities within the rules on human rights protection in police investigations and revise them within the year," adding that it "is implementing the recommendations by reviewing the dedicated investigation system for people with developmental disabilities to enhance expertise and exploring ways to utilize related statistics."
The Prosecution Service also said it "developed an easy-to-understand indictment (sample) for people with developmental disabilities and completed its distribution and guidance to the dedicated prosecutor offices for people with developmental disabilities at prosecutors' offices at all levels."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it "welcomes that the Korean National Police Agency and the Prosecution Service agree with the intent of the recommendation and have accepted it, and expects this improvement measure to serve as an opportunity to more robustly protect the rights of people with disabilities across our society."