In 2023 there were 6,504, which represents a significant increase compared to the 2,801 in 2014. The percentage has gone from 8.4% to 17.1%. An emergency underestimated by the ruling class because it does not provide consensus, but which runs the risk of becoming a serious problem for the system. The number of prison officers between 40 and 50 years old also represents almost 75% of the total.
Seoul () – The rapid aging of the Korean population is causing radical changes in many sectors of society, and prisons do not seem to be an exception. According to the Ministry of Justice’s annual report on penitentiary institutions, published today, the number of inmates aged 60 or over was 6,504 last year, a significant increase from 2,801 in 2014.
The percentage of the total prison population has more than doubled, going from 8.4% to 17.1% in a decade. That means that right now one in six prisoners is 60 years old or older, which does not bode well for the system as a whole, which experts say must already deal with many other structural problems.
As the age and number of prisoners in the country increases, new challenges arise. For example, a growing prison population could mean an increasing proportion of prisoners with problems related to cognitive decline, such as dementia, a disease more common in older people. Others may require wheelchairs or other physical assistance to move within the facility.
Since the government has a legal obligation to provide adequate health care services, to address this change, according to scholars, major reforms would be needed in more than 50 correctional institutions spread across the Korean Peninsula. “All of this could mean a significant increase in medical costs for detainees,” he explains. Korean Times an inspector from the National Human Rights Commission. “This is becoming a big problem, as the medical staff responsible for their health cannot keep up due to low salaries and frequent lawsuits filed by inmates.”
Despite its severity and urgency, the problem of aging has been virtually ignored by politicians, who see few incentives or benefits, in terms of popularity and consensus, for addressing it. However, by neglecting it, the ruling class evades its responsibilities, especially with regard to the main objective of these structures, which is rehabilitation, that is, helping criminals to reform their behavior and reintegrate into society.
In recent months, five bills related to prison issues have been proposed in Parliament, but none of them raise the aging of the population. Park Soon-yong, a senior prison official at the Daejeon regional headquarters, has proposed several ideas to improve the system. One of them is to develop more effective educational programs for elderly prisoners. Another suggestion is to build new facilities for older inmates and incorporate specialized prison officers in their care and education.
“On the other hand, building new facilities exclusively for elderly inmates costs a considerable amount of money,” Park warned. “In addition, an initiative of this type could provoke complaints and concerns from those who think that the prison system would be transformed into a kind of care and assistance center” for the elderly.
The aging of the prison population is a reflection of a broader change that is taking place in the country due to the persistently low birth rate that has characterized South Korea for years, where a true demographic winter is occurring. And always according to the annual report of the Ministry of Justice, the number of prison officials between 40 and 50 years old also represents almost 75% of the total in 2023.
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