South Korea's correctional facilities face renewed scrutiny over inmate cooling as summer heatwaves return, with the Ministry of Justice planning to invest about 1.2 billion won this year to install air conditioning in prison corridors.
According to the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, living quarters at the country's correctional facilities currently have no air conditioning. Cooling is mainly operated only in staff offices and medical wings. There is no legal standard for indoor temperatures in relevant laws, meaning correctional facilities have no legal obligation to maintain appropriate temperatures.
The ministry plans to spend approximately 1.2 billion won this year to reinforce cooling equipment, focusing on corridors of housing units where vulnerable inmates such as the elderly, disabled and patients reside. Some women's housing units are also included. Regular cells are equipped only with electric fans instead of air conditioners, which operate on a cycle of 50 minutes of use followed by a forced 10-minute stop to prevent overheating.
Heat-related harm is already a reality. In July last year, seven heat illness cases occurred at five facilities including Gongju, Gwangju and Yeongwol prisons, Ulsan Detention Center and Cheonan Open Prison. There have also been fatalities. In 2016, two inmates at Busan Prison died of heatstroke a day apart, a fact that came to light only later.
Overcrowding is making the situation worse. According to the Ministry of Justice's "2025 Correctional Statistics Yearbook," the occupancy rate at correctional facilities nationwide stood at 126.9% as of April this year. Cases have been reported of five to six inmates living in cells designed for three, or more than 10 inmates being held in five-person cells.
The National Assembly Research Service recently called for the establishment of indoor temperature standards at correctional facilities in a report titled "Can a Hot Summer Become a Punishment?" The report argued that temperature management standards at the Ministry of Justice level are needed to protect inmates' lives and health.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea made the same recommendation to the Ministry of Justice in 2019, but the ministry rejected it in 2020, citing the possibility that legalization could trigger state compensation lawsuits. The ministry also said that 35.2% of all correctional facilities are aged 40 years or more since completion, making it difficult to apply uniform standards.
Public criticism has been fierce. Online reactions included "We should install air conditioners for elderly people living alone first," "Who takes responsibility for the suffering of victims?" and "Is a prison cell a hotel?"
The same debate is being repeated overseas. In the U.S. state of Texas, inmates filed an injunction demanding air conditioning installation, arguing that indoor prison temperatures soaring to 48 degrees Celsius constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
According to research published in 2022 by researchers at Brown University, Boston University and Harvard University, 13% of deaths, or 271 people, that occurred in Texas prisons without air conditioning between 2001 and 2019 may have died from extreme heat.
While partially granting the injunction, the court determined that ordering full air conditioning installation, which would cost millions of dollars, was not realistically feasible. The trial is currently underway, with the presiding judge stating that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail in the main case.
In Japan, the Kyoto Bar Association recommended in 2018 that the head of Kyoto Detention Center install air conditioning to protect inmates' lives. However, Japanese correctional authorities have also maintained a passive stance on full implementation, citing budget and fairness concerns.
As heatwaves grow more severe, the issue of cooling in correctional facilities continues to repeat itself each year, caught between accusations of preferential treatment and obligations to protect human rights, with no clear solution in sight.
