The prosecution will use warrants translated into foreign languages when apprehending or arresting foreign suspects as part of efforts to better protect their human rights in investigations and court proceedings, it said Wednesday. 

The apprehension, arrest and search warrants, as well as some 60 major criminal charges, will be translated into 15 languages and distributed to prosecutors’ offices across the country, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

The translated versions will be available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Mongolian, Thai, Cambodian, Indonesian, Uzbek, Sri Lankan, Myanmarese, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi.

The prosecution also plans to systematically operate a pool of translators affiliated with prosecutors’ offices across the country who will accompany prosecutors to the scene when foreign suspects are apprehended or arrested.

The prosecution is considering translating the warrants into more languages in the future, it said.

The move follows a recommendation by the prosecution reform committee.

There are an estimated 2.36 million foreign residents in Korea, as of the end of December last year, according to statistics from the immigration office. Some 36,277 foreign suspects were apprehended in 2017, accounting for 1.9 percent of the captured suspects.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)