Lee Hong-yeon said Korea Correctional Service plans to use AI in prisons to detect warning signs of violence, self-harm and escape, in a recent written interview. He described the project as a shift from reacting after incidents to preventing them through data analysis. The system would also support administrative work and individualized treatment, while leaving treatment and parole decisions to human judgment.
Korea Correctional Service Commissioner General Lee Hong-yeon / Courtesy of Ministry of Justice
Korean prisons of the future will be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) that can quickly identify warning signs of violence, self-harm and escape, as the Ministry of Justice moves to build a data-driven correctional management system.
Lee Hong-yeon, chief of the Korea Correctional Service, described the project as a shift from a reactive model — responding after an incident occurs — to a preventive one backed by data analysis, which he believes will help the institution achieve its broader goals of preventing incidents, reducing reoffending and protecting prison staff.
“AI correctional administration is not simply about introducing new technology,” Lee said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times. “It is a transition toward preventive and scientific methods that identify risks in advance and provide individualized correctional treatment and rehabilitation support suited to each inmate’s characteristics and needs.”
