"Report Homeless People's Urine and Feces Found to the Station Office"… Human Rights Commission Says "Promotes Hatred"

Human Rights Commission: "Matters Applicable to All Citizens"

Photo by Homeless Action provided.

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has judged that a subway poster stating "Please report to the station office if you find a homeless person urinating or defecating" infringes on the dignity of homeless people.

On the 2nd, the NHRCK recommended the presidents of Korea Railroad Corporation and Seoul Metro to conduct job training for their employees and disseminate the case within their organizations to prevent recurrence of posters that promote hatred against homeless people being posted in stations.

Earlier, the homeless rights group 'Homeless Action' filed a complaint with the NHRCK, stating that posters displayed in stations in October last year and January this year, with messages such as "Claiming compensation for damages caused by intentional vandalism (TV) by homeless people" and "Please report to the station office if you find a homeless person urinating or defecating in the elevator," incited contempt and hatred against homeless people.

On the morning of January 12, a warning notice posted by Seoul Station is attached to the wall near the stairs of Exit 2 at Seoul Station subway. / Photo by Homeless Action

The respondents replied, "We did not think it could promote hatred against homeless people," and "Employees had significant difficulties due to habitual urination, and there were requests for improvement including complaints, so we posted the notices," adding that all posters have now been removed.

The NHRCK explained, "Although all posters have been removed, since they were already exposed to an unspecified large number of people, it is difficult to consider the harm to homeless people fully restored, and it is necessary to consider that similar cases could occur in other stations."

Furthermore, the commission stated, "The posters prohibit public urination and defecation or facility damage, which apply equally to all citizens, but by specifically targeting 'homeless people,' they infringed on the dignity of homeless individuals," adding, "Posting such notices inside stations where many citizens pass by can deepen social prejudice and discrimination against homeless people."

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