56
NHRCK, Opinion on the Special Bill on Statutes of Limitations for Inhumane State Crimes, etc.
(November 2005).
57
NHRCK, Opinion on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
(April 2006).
58
NHRCK, Status of complaints received and resolved by the NHRCK concerning human rights
violations in the military
(Unit: case)
Received
Resolved
Accepted
2016
223
214
25
2017
520
236
27
2018
265
163
27
2019
528
436
22
2020
464
503
72
2021
432
368
39
2022
702
713
39
2023 (as of 31 July)
470
599
70
59
Meanwhile, a female sergeant in her early 20s, who was sexually abused by an Air Force noncommissioned officer, was indicted for housebreaking into the residence of another subordinate
sergeant during a military police investigation, and was eventually suspended of indictment. In
response, the Military Human Rights Center (a human rights organization) filed a constitutional
complaint in June 2023 claiming, “The victim of sexual abuse was forcefully taken to an isolated
residence of another subordinate sergeant by the perpetrator, but was accused of breaking and
entering.” Prior to this, the NHRCK concluded in relation to this case that the Air Force’s indictment
of the sexually abused victim as a suspect through an unreasonable separate investigation was clearly
the act of victimization against the victim in itself. Thus, it made recommendation to the Ministry of
National Defense and the military to conduct victimization prevention training and consider dropping
the charge from the separate case in December 2022 (NHRCK, Decision on the victimization against
the victim of sexual violence in Air Force, Case No. 22Jinjeong0646800, December 2022).
60
Article 2 (definition) of the Act on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims:
The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
1. The term "human trafficking, etc." means committing any of following acts for the purpose of
any commercial sex act, sexual or labor exploitation, organ removal, or other forms of exploitation to
recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, hand over, or receive persons: Provided, That where children or
youth defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth
against Sex Offenses (hereinafter referred to as “children or youth”) or persons with disabilities under
Article 2 of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter referred to as “persons with
disabilities”) are recruited, transported, transferred, harbored, handed over, or received, any of the
following acts shall not be required:
33