Foreign prisoners in S. Korea number over 1,000: gov't tally

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreign inmates in South Korea recently
surpassed 1,000, with more than 60 percent of them having Chinese nationality,
government records showed Friday.

According to the Justice Ministry, 1,031 foreign nationals from 36 countries were
in South Korean prisons at the end of June. The largest group came from China,
totaling 667, followed by Taiwan with 125 and Mongolia with 32.
An additional 681 foreigners were detained while awaiting trial.
Among the total of 1,712 in detention, 700 were charged with fraud or
embezzlement, 204 of homicide and 113 of drug-related crimes, the record showed.
The ministry last week assigned 15 correctional officers with foreign language
proficiency to prisons where the foreigners are jailed, officials said. The
officers were chosen for English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian, they said.
"In the past, officers have had difficulties in communicating with foreigners who
can't speak English," said an official at the Korea Correctional Office. "We hope
the newly hired officers can help foreign prisoners who were unable to express
their needs due to the language barrier."
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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