E/CN.4/1989/15 page 39 for the National Assembly were held and, as a consequence, the ruling Djp is now in a minority position in the National Assembly, which is dominated by three opposition parties. 190. Since July 1987, a number of presidential amnesties have been declared under which more than 400 political prisoners have been released. The number of political prisoners still in detention is a matter of dispute between the Government and the opposition. 191. Human rights violations reportedly had taken place on a wide scale in the previous years. Since the inception of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur has received a fair number of allegations which were subsequently brought to the attention of the Korean authorities. Public debate on torture reached a peak at the beginning of 1987 when a student, Park Chong-Chol, died on 14 January 1987 as a result of torture during interrogation. Five police officers who had been involved in the interrogation were sentenced from 5 to 15 years' imprisonment, whereas three senior officers received prison sentences of up to one year, because they had participated in an attempt to cover up the events. In another case that became widely known, namely that of a female trade-unionist, Mrs. Kwon In-Sook, who was sexually abused by her interrogator, the police officer was sentenced to five years* imprisonment. 192. Under the 1987 Constitution, torture is absolutely forbidden (art.12, 2). A confession which has been obtained by torture or under duress is not admissible as evidence. Perhaps even more important is the provision that a confession is not admissible if it is the only piece of evidence against a defendant; this implies that, under the law, a defendant can never be convicted on the basis of a confession which has been extracted by torture alone (art. 12, 7 ) . These provisions are also part of the Code of Criminal Procedure (art. 309-310) . No one may be arrested without a warrante issued by a judge, unless the suspect is apprehended in flagrante delicto; arrests without a warrant may also be made in the case of various crimes (punishable by more than three years' imprisonment), if there is a danger that evidence will be destroyed or that the suspect will escape (Constitution, art. 12.3 and Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 207 ) . The provision in the Constitution that an arrested person must be informed of the reason for his arrest and of his right to legal assistance, which assistance shall be prompt, is of great importance, as is the new provision that the relatives of the arrested person shall be informed about the arrest and the person's whereabouts without delay (Constitution, art. 12, 4 and 5); incommunicado detention therefore is strictly forbidden. 193. During his visit the Special Rapporteur received information from various sources stating that a person arrested by the police can be kept in a police station for preliminary interrogation for a maximum of 48 hours. If no warrant of arrest has been obtained after this period, the person must be released immediately. If a warrant has been issued, the person may be held at the police station for a period of 10 days, after which the public prosecutor has to decide whether the suspect will be formally charged or not. If the investigation has not yet been finalized, the period of investigative detention may be extended by another 10 days by a judicial authority. In that case, however, the suspected person must be transferred to the public prosecutor's office. If the person is suspected of having committed a crime against the security of the State, another 10 days' extension can be granted;