Asia-Pacific

S Korean president stresses human rights of criminal suspects

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-22 11:32

SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stressed Tuesday the importance of guaranteeing human rights of criminal suspects during a law enforcement process, his office Cheong Wa Dae said.

"Torture during criminal investigations cannot be accepted for any reason," Lee was quoted as saying in a weekly Cabinet meeting by his spokesman Park Sun-kyoo. "What's more important than anything else during a law enforcement process is securing human rights of the people."

The rare remarks on human rights by Lee, a conservative long upbraided by his critics for focusing less on human rights than his liberal predecessors, came after the National Human Rights Commission said last week it received petitions claiming at least 22 criminal suspects were tortured during interrogations at a Seoul police station, which led to possibly forced confession.

The president added those responsible for the alleged incidents will be held accountable in a "resolute" manner, and stressed torture during investigations should not recur, according to Park.