The purpose of this article is to review the legal problems in the administrative commitment, especially the involuntary commitment of the mental patients.
On the one hand, the intended objective of physical restraint of mentally ill is not punishment but treatment or protection. For that reason, the regulation of the administrative commitment may be less restrictive in comparison with the criminal
detention On the other hand, in the view of the fact the administrative commitment result in the physical reatraint, the protection of rights of mental patient must be equivalent to that of the criminal.
The essential regulation of the administrative commitment must be as follows: 1. The due process principle and the proportionality principle must be applicated. 2. In Korea, it is to be desired that the judicial authority not the non-judicial
body
decide the placement considering the abuse of powers in administrative commitment.
However, the actual law on the administrative commitment is very insufficient from the viewpoint of the protection of rights.
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