Long-term prisoner Shin Chang-won (56) tried another ‘extreme choice’ after 12 years in prison. Shin, who was taken to the emergency room, is said to be in no danger of life.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 22nd, at around 8:15 p.m. the previous day, Shin was trying to end his life while in solitary confinement at the Daejeon Prison. The patrol staff immediately took him to an external hospital after performing emergency measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR ). An official from the correctional authorities said, “With the quick response of the staff, there is no danger to his life.”

A hospital official explained, “I was unconscious when I came to the hospital, but I came back to consciousness this morning,” but “conversation is still impossible.” The hospital is conducting sleep treatment in case Shin may act unexpectedly while unconscious. The prison officials are trying to figure out the details of Shin’s attempt to make an extreme choice.

Shin was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989 for robbery and manslaughter. After passing through Seoul Prison and Cheongsong Prison, he was transferred to Busan Prison in November 1994 and served his sentence. Then, in January 1997, in the eighth year of his sentence, he escaped from a prison in Busan. He cut the iron bars in the cell’s bathroom안전놀이터, dug up the ground under the iron screen installed for the new church in the prison, entered the construction site, and climbed over the prison wall using a nearby rope.

After that, he was arrested in July 1999 while hiding in an apartment in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do. He evaded the police for 2 years and 6 months and appeared all over the country, earning him the nickname ‘The Great Prisoner’. A sentence of 22 years and 6 months was added after his arrest. At the time of his arrest, the colorful knitted tee he wore was in vogue and fan clubs were created.

This is not the first time Shin has attempted to choose an extreme. He had already done it once on August 18, 2011, when he was serving his sentence in North Gyeongsangbuk-do Prison. In May 2019, when he was in solitary confinement for 20 years after being recaptured, and receiving special protection through closed circuit ( CC ) TV , he also filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, saying, “It is unfair to have your every move monitored.” The Ministry of Justice accepted the recommendation of the Human Rights Commission that there is potential for human rights violation and removed the CCTV .