Asia-Pacific

S Korea opens prison for foreign inmates

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-23 15:33
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SEOUL: South Korea has opened a prison specifically built for foreign inmates, in a move to respect and better-serve their human rights, the government said Tuesday.

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The Cheonan Correctional Institution for Foreign Nationals, located in the city of Cheonan, about 90 km south of Seoul, has a space for 1,230 inmates, the Ministry of Justice said, adding that it will treat them on humanitarian grounds to have the facility play a significant role in improving the overall welfare of non- Korean inmates.

The ministry added it will serve Western food and foreign satellite TV shows in four different languages, including English, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic, as correctional officers will also be fluent in those languages.

Also, the prison will offer vocational training programs and lectures in a variety of areas such as teaching the (South) Korean culture and history, ministry officials said.

South Korea currently has more than 1,500 foreign inmates from 42 nations, as it has more than doubled over the last four years, ministry data showed.
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