Human Rights Commission: "Excessive Investigation of Hospitalized Migrant Woman in Fall Accident... Police System Needs Improvement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission has determined that the police conducted excessive investigations into a migrant woman who was injured in a fall accident during a crackdown on prostitution.

On the 12th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it accepted a complaint filed by migrant women’s organizations and recommended the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency to improve related systems.

Ms. A suffered serious injuries, including fractures, after jumping from the 4th floor of a building during a police crackdown on a massage business last year. However, she claimed that the police interrogated her in the hospital room on the day of the accident without following the procedures for notifying rights, such as having a trusted person present.

In response, migrant women’s organizations filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, stating, "The investigation was forced ahead without any consideration despite her receiving treatment for injuries, and there was no identification procedure for victims of human trafficking."

Through its investigation, the Human Rights Commission confirmed that Ms. A had entered Korea from Thailand after receiving false employment information from an agency, and that she was forced to engage in prostitution while having her passport confiscated by the Thai agency, exposing her to an environment where prostitution was inevitable.

The Commission also pointed out that the police’s investigation of Ms. A’s prostitution charges in a multi-patient hospital room, failure to have a trusted person present, and non-compliance with the rights notification procedures regarding meetings and communication with consular officials constituted human rights violations.

The Human Rights Commission recommended the chief of the relevant police station to issue written warnings to five police officers who were dispatched to the scene at the time, and advised the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency to establish manuals and improve systems related to the identification and protection of human trafficking victims.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.