National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2017 69 Upon receiving a complaint, the Commission conducts an investigation. If the case is recognized as a human rights violation or 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 infringement or discriminatory act. In 2017, 12,325 complaints were received by the Commission, an increase of 1,680 (15.8%) from the 10,645 complaints received in 2016. Of these, 9,263 (75.2%) were related to human rights infringements, 3,029 (24.6%) discriminations, and 33 (0.3%) other matters. The Commission may resort to emergency relief measures in accordance with the NHRC infringements and acts of discrimination are on-going, and it is recognized that the situation may lead to irrecoverable damages if left unresolved. In January, the Commission recommended emergency relief actions to a local self-governing body in response to a complaint that a mentally challenged person in the jurisdiction was wrongfully being exploited, demanding that the person be separated, protected, and offered life support relief. The recommendation was accommodated by the relevant authority. Ex officio investigation Paragraph 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 2017, the Commission initiated ex officio investigations on ten serious human rights violations, including human rights violation by sexual violence in the military; violation due to overcrowding of a detention facility; assault against a resident at University Hospital X; sexual harassment of a female employee by a senior employee of Public Corporation X; violation resulting from coercion to complete humanistic education at a college; violence and other infringements at a facility for severely handicapped persons; violence and human rights Commission's Major Activities Act if a complaint is a subject of Commission investigation, it is highly likely that human rights Part 2 Emergency relief