Opposition's Kim Mi-ae: "Deokseongwon Victims Must Have Their Honor Restored"... Jeong Eun-kyeong: "Will Actively Consider"
Kim Mi-ae Raises Deokseongwon Incident at National Assembly Audit
Ministry of Health and Welfare Issues First De Facto Official Statement
Kim Mi-ae, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the People Power Party, has prompted a response from the Ministry of Health and Welfare by demanding an official government apology and follow-up support regarding the human rights violations at Deokseongwon in Busan.
On October 30, during the Health and Welfare Committee’s parliamentary audit, Assemblywoman Kim called on Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong to issue an official apology to the victims of the Deokseongwon incident. She also requested the following: disclosure of the schedule and plans for a comprehensive investigation of the victims, establishment and activation of an emergency support system, provisional registration of victims, provision of emergency support, and completion of the main investigation procedures within the year.
This comes one year after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Past Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission) in October 2024 recognized the “Busan Deokseongwon human rights violation case” as a serious human rights violation and recommended an official state apology, measures to restore the victims’ honor, and a comprehensive investigation.
Assemblywoman Kim stated, “Deokseongwon was not just a private facility; it was a state-subsidized child welfare facility that received 80% of its operating costs and 100% of its construction costs from national and local government funds,” and asked, “Minister, are you aware of what happened inside?”
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s investigation, Deokseongwon was established in 1952 and operated until 2001, during which time children were repeatedly subjected to forced labor, physical abuse, and sexual violence. Female students worked like housemaids in the director’s family residence, while some male students worked without pay at the private business run by the director’s son. Despite most of the operating and construction costs being covered by national and local government funds, the residents were forced to eat barley rice and wear secondhand clothes, with even their basic living conditions not being guaranteed.
Assemblywoman Kim criticized, “The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended an apology, investigation, and support from the state, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare shifted responsibility to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and has taken no action to date.” She continued, “The Deokseongwon case is both a human rights violation in a child welfare facility and a result of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s failure in supervision. Even now, the ministry, as the responsible authority, must directly apologize and implement a comprehensive investigation and measures to restore the victims’ honor.”
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In response, Minister Jeong stated, “I agree that the state bears responsibility, and I think it would be better to address this more formally,” adding, “We will actively consider it.”
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