Human Rights Commission: Forced Administrative Hospitalization of Mentally Ill Patients Who Refuse Treatment Is a Human Rights Violation

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that a hospital's 'administrative hospitalization' of a patient with a mental illness who voluntarily sought treatment constitutes a human rights violation.

On the 5th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended Hospital Director A, the respondent, to conduct job and human rights education for affiliated staff to prevent similar human rights violations from recurring. Additionally, it advised Mayor B of the local government to be cautious about the abuse of administrative hospitalization and to strengthen guidance and supervision of designated psychiatric medical institutions within the jurisdiction to prevent recurrence. The Commission stated, "All citizens are guaranteed the right to self-determination and bodily freedom, which are prerequisites for dignity, value, and the pursuit of happiness as stipulated by the Constitution," adding, "Patients admitted to psychiatric medical institutions are no exception."

Earlier, in June of last year, a complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission by complainant C, who had alcohol dependence and visited Hospital A seeking inpatient treatment but was subjected to administrative hospitalization. Administrative hospitalization, as stipulated in Article 44 of the Mental Health Welfare Act, is a procedure whereby a psychiatrist and others can hospitalize a patient for up to two weeks with the approval of the local government head. Hospital A explained in response to the complaint that "C had been hospitalized twice before, and after discharge, repeatedly exhibited pathological drinking behavior and epileptic seizure symptoms, raising concerns about health deterioration and safety accidents, so administrative hospitalization was carried out in consultation with public health centers and others."

However, the Human Rights Commission judged that non-consensual hospitalization measures such as administrative hospitalization contradict the Mental Health Welfare Act's intent to encourage voluntary hospitalization and respect the patient's right to self-determination. The Commission pointed out, "Administrative hospitalization severely restricts bodily freedom to a level comparable to physical restraint, as discharge against the patient's will is not permitted," and warned, "Care must be taken to ensure that administrative hospitalization is not used as a means to unilaterally isolate or exclude psychiatric patients from society." The Commission also stated, "For alcohol dependence or abuse, it is important to motivate patients to voluntarily commit to abstinence," adding, "If patients are instilled with fears of being forcibly confined to psychiatric hospitals against their will, it may actually hinder voluntary inpatient treatment."

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