[2023 National Audit] Abused Children Travel Thousands of Miles to Shelters... Sometimes Moving 450 km

It has been revealed that more than 100 cases last year involved abused children seeking refuge in child shelters located in metropolitan cities or provinces other than their place of residence. Despite the government's pledge to expand shelters for abused children following the so-called 'Jeong In case,' there is still a shortage of shelters.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Kang Sun-woo, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 25th, out of 935 children who used shelters for abused children last year, 104 were admitted to shelters outside their registered residential areas.

Kang Sun-woo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a forum seeking ways to strengthen national management of rare diseases that threaten life, held on the 6th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In particular, 14 children in Seoul, 13 in Gyeonggi Province, and 12 in Jeonbuk were found to be using shelters in other regions. Additionally, there were children using shelters in other areas such as Gangwon and Chungnam (9 children), Gyeongbuk and Chungbuk (8 children), Jeonnam (6 children), Ulsan and Jeju (5 children), Incheon (4 children), Gyeongnam and Gwangju (3 children), Busan and Sejong (2 children), and Daejeon (1 child).

Shelters for abused children provide protection, treatment, and caregiving services for children who have suffered abuse. Children using shelters outside their residential areas may not receive appropriate measures while traveling to the shelters. However, as of August this year, out of a total of 229 cities, counties, and districts, 130 had no shelters installed at all, and only 32 had shelters for both girls and boys.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced in August 2021, through a joint plan with related ministries titled 'Measures to Supplement the Child Abuse Response System,' that the number of shelters for abused children would increase to 141 by 2022 and 240 by 2025. However, as of last year, there were only 125 shelters, 16 fewer than planned.

Assembly member Kang said, "The government's expansion of shelters is very slow due to insufficient budget support for shelter installation costs," adding, "It is urgent to strengthen government budget support for shelter expansion and to establish realistic shelter installation plans that consider regional demand."

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