Social Worker Repeatedly Threatened and Abused Intellectually Disabled Person... National Human Rights Commission Requests Police Investigation

Administrative Disposition Recommendation for the Disabled Welfare Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] On the 22nd, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea requested a police investigation into a social worker at a daytime care center who habitually verbally abused and harassed an individual with an intellectual disability.

According to the Human Rights Commission, the mother of A (35), an intellectually disabled person using a daytime care center at a disability welfare center, accidentally obtained a recording containing voices of social workers speaking coercively to A and filed a complaint with the commission.

As a result of the investigation, it was found that social worker B threatened the victim between January and February this year, used derogatory language toward the disabled, and frequently shouted at or pointed fingers aggressively at the disabled individuals at the center. The commission also secured testimony that B's behavior continued about 2 to 3 times a week for over a year.

Accordingly, the Human Rights Commission's Disability Discrimination Remedy Committee judged B's prolonged verbal conduct, intended to control the victim's behavior and impose their own will, which could negatively affect the victim's mental health, as emotional abuse. They referred the case to the police on charges of disability abuse.

Furthermore, the director of the disability welfare center, who was aware of the situation but failed to establish appropriate measures to prevent recurrence, was instructed to prepare internal procedures for handling disability human rights violations and to conduct human rights education for all staff. The mayor, who holds supervisory authority, was recommended to take administrative action against the institution.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "We empathize that emotional abuse toward disabled individuals can sometimes cause greater suffering to the person and their family than physical abuse. We will firmly recommend corrective measures if emotional abuse that infringes on personal dignity is confirmed in the future."

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