www.humanrights.go.kr recognized as a human rights abuse on discrimination, the defendant or its supervisory agency are recommended to take certain actions to prevent a recurrence and ensure recovery. If a case does not fall under the Commission’s subjects of investigation as defined in the NHRC Act, it is rejected. A case is dismissed if it is determined that it is not a human rights abuse or discriminatory act. In 2016, 10,636 complaints were received by the Commission, a total similar to that of 2015 (10,695 complaints). Of these, 8,167 (76.8%) were for human rights abuses, 2,432 (22.9%) for discriminations, and 37 (0.3%) for other matters. The Commission may resort to emergency relief measures in accordance with Article 48 that human rights abuses and acts of discrimination are on-going, and it is recognized that the situation may lead to irrecoverable damages if left unresolved. In 2016, there were no cases requiring emergency relief measures. Ex Officio investigation Subparagraph 3 of Article 30 of the NHRC Act provides that “even if a complaint has not been filed, the Commission may initiate an ex officio investigation when there is reasonable ground to believe that human rights have been violated and that such violation is critical.” In 2016, the Commission initiated ex officio investigations on 11 serious human rights abuses. These are the inhumane treatment of children in child care institutions; sexual discrimination in employment, including forced retirement of female employees after marriage; abusive language and violence at vocational training centers for people with special needs; abusive language and violence against persons with disabilities at residential homes; deaths of patients hospitalized in mental health institutions; assault by workers in protective facilities; insufficient medical attention and treatment given to an inmate who died at a Busan penitentiary; human rights abuses by investigative institutions with use of handcuffs and other police equipment during interrogation; beating of patients by care workers; violence in military units and human rights abuses resulting from negligence; and human rights abuses by the police with use of handcuffs and other police equipment during interrogation. 45 Commission's Major Activities of the NHRC Act if a complaint is a subject of Commission investigation, it is highly likely Part II Emergency relief