과밀지옥 [시사기획 창] / KBS 2026.05.26.

"It’s not just overcrowding; it’s 'super-super overcrowding.' I think it’s safe to say that the situation is now becoming unbearable." 127%. This is the average occupancy rate for Korea’s 55 prisons and detention centers. It means that 127 people have been crammed into a prison designed to hold 100. Calls are erupting from the field that overcrowding has exceeded its limits. What is happening inside those walls right now? KBS Current Affairs Program "Chang" conducted exclusive, in-depth coverage of the interiors of many overcrowded correctional facilities. ■ What is happening at the Busan Detention Center, with its '150% occupancy rate'? Last September, a pretrial detainee in his 20s died at the Busan Detention Center. According to the prosecution's investigation, he had been subjected to habitual beatings by fellow inmates in the same cell. No one noticed the fact that a group beating was taking place. It has been confirmed that at the time of the incident, three correctional officers were patrolling 500 inmates. This means that one officer was responsible for 167 inmates. The occupancy rate at the Busan Detention Center exceeded 150%. The detention center had long been appealing for help regarding the critical situation, even going so far as to send an official letter to the court requesting caution in issuing arrest warrants. However, the overcrowding issue remained unresolved, and the consequences came back in the form of an accident. ■ 'War on Drugs', the Normalization of Detention According to the Ministry of Justice's Correctional Bureau, the number of inmates nationwide was 56,495 (occupancy rate 121.2%) in 2016. It steadily decreased to 51,117 (occupancy rate 104.3%) in 2022, but began to rise again starting in 2023. As of 2025, the figure stands at 63,680 (125.8%), and this year it reached 64,354 (127.1%), surpassing the 60,000 mark. This figure already exceeds the capacity (50,614) by more than 10,000. This is attributed to a series of national crackdowns, including the "War on Drugs" and crackdowns on Jeonse fraud and voice phishing. The number of inmates with mental illnesses has also doubled over the past decade. Hwang Ji-tae, Head of the Crime Trends Research Division at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice, cites the sentiment of "harsh punishment" as one of the underlying reasons for the recent prison overcrowding. It is a structure that leads to public demands for severe punishment against criminals, alignment with the political sphere and the media, and the normalization of detention. ■ The Aftermath? Inside the Walls, a "Desperate Struggle" The problem lies in the aftermath. Once criminals enter prison, "the situation inside the walls" fades from public interest. Prison guards are literally fighting a desperate battle. Based on nighttime hours, the number of inmates assigned to a single correctional officer in prisons nationwide has increased by 24% over the past five years, and accidents within correctional facilities have doubled from 894 cases in 2016 to 1,873 cases in 2024. ■ 15 People in an 8-Person Cell… Nights Spent in the Bathroom As prisons become overcrowded, solitary confinement has long since been replaced by 2- or 3-person cells. One ex-convict interviewed by the reporting team stated that 15 people lived together in an 8-person cell. He mentioned that there were days when he had to spend the night in the bathroom because there was no space to sleep. It is reported that at the only women's prison in the country, inmates are even taking turns sleeping "sitting up." ■ Collapse of the 'Principle of Inmate Separation' Both prisons and detention centers are in a situation where they have no choice but to "cram" new inmates wherever they are. The principle of separating first-time offenders from repeat offenders, and violent criminals from other offenders, is crumbling. When inmates who should be kept separate are mixed together in one place, the risk of accidents increases. They become "instructors of crime" to one another, and the likelihood of recidivism also rises. ■ Minimum Conditions for Rehabilitation In overcrowded conditions, the rehabilitation of inmates has become a distant dream. As of last December, out of approximately 7,400 drug inmates nationwide, only about 200 were participating in drug abstinence programs. This means that only 3 out of every 100 inmates are currently participating in rehabilitation to quit drugs. Correctional officers on the ground express their frustration. This is because if inmates are simply released back into the wild without proper rehabilitation or treatment, it inevitably leads to repeat offenses. ■ We Could Just Build More Prisons... In Korean society, which is sensitive to "housing prices," building new correctional facilities always faces difficulties. Is prison overcrowding a problem confined solely to those inside the walls? Inmates who fail to be rehabilitated eventually return to soci...