NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF KOREA
Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – July 2022
Case 2: In the case of a person with intellectual disability who was abused and exploited
like a slave for more than 10 years at the dump of Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the biggest
baseball stadium in Seoul, the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office has not
indicated his brother who sent the victim to the garbage dump and embezzled both
wages and national subsidies, and ignored the intention of the victim with intellectual
disabilities to sue and punish, saying “It cannot be regarded as an idea with inner
standards.”(Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office, 2019 Sentencing N.836).
14
Constitutional Court, Ruling 2018HunBa524, December 23, 2021
15
Status of hospitalization suitability examination and hospitalization extension(2018. 7.
1.～2020. 6. 30.)
Result of hospitalization suitability examination
Number of cases
suitable
and ratio
(maintain
hospitalization)
2018.7~2019.6
2019.7~2020.6
unsuitable
(discharge)
rejection
(already
discharged)
total
(number, %)
Number
26,672
557
7,493
34,722
Ratio
76.8
1.6
21.6
100%
Number
24,208
431
7,357
31,996
Ratio
75.7
1.3
23.0
100%
Result of hospitalization extension examination
Number of cases and
ratio
2018.7~2019.6
2019.7~2020.6
re-
out-
examination
clinic
351
176
1.6%
0.9%
45,114
981
96.4%
2.1%
extension
rejection
discharge
other
total
Number
37,554
616
8
44
38,749
Ratio
96.9%
0.5%
0.0%
0.1%
100%
Number
388
306
9
18
46,816
Ratio
0.8%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
100%
Source: internal material received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Mental Hospital
Examination Committee nationwide(July, 2020), National Human Rights Commission of Korea,
Report on Human Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities(2021), p.165
16
As of December 2018, among involuntary hospitalization, 88% were hospitalization by
a legal guardian and 12% were administrative hospitalization (press release of the
Ministry of Health and Welfare on May 2019, “Measures with priority for protection and
rehabilitation for patients with severe mental illness, p.30). And as for the period from
July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, among 37,157 the hospitalization by legal guardians, all
were hospitalization by family members except for 26 cases by guardians, and as such,
involuntary hospitalization by family members accounts for large proportion(National
Human Rights Commission of Korea, 2021 Report on Human Rights of Persons with
Mental Disabilities, p.158).
17
“Forced hospitalization into medical health institution by a member of mental health
and welfare center’(Disability Discrimination Rectification Committee, February 16, 2020,
Decision, Case No 21-Complaints-0697700).
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