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Busan Metropolitan City Expands Support to Help Victims of State Violence, Including the Brothers Home Incident, Restore Their Daily Lives

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it is expanding more meticulous and comprehensive support to help victims of state violence, including those affected by the Brothers Home incident, achieve meaningful recovery in their daily lives.

In the second half of this year, the City went beyond existing policies such as medical expense assistance and expanded the number of designated hospitals for victims from 9 to 23.

On October 1, the City invited victims to a meeting on the expansion of designated hospitals for victims of incidents including the Brothers Home case, where it listened closely to their difficulties. Through expanding designated hospitals for medical expense support, the City strengthened access to medical services and further enhanced practical assistance by expanding support for health checkups and vaccinations.

In addition, ahead of the winter season, the City has identified additional support measures by linking available local resources—such as year-end and New Year community outreach events—to ensure that victims of state violence are not left isolated and can share in a warm winter together.

The Busan Volunteer Center (Director Park Gyeong-ok) delivered 40 boxes (5 kg each) of kimchi to victim households through the 2025 Sharing Love Kimchi-Making Event.

Following the high level of satisfaction expressed by victims after the previous kimchi-sharing event, the Busan City Council of the Saemaul Undong Movement (President Kim Gi-yong) plans to provide an additional 40 boxes.

In addition, along with the “Busan Healing Forest Experience,” which has been implemented since 2022 for trauma recovery, the City also organized visits to a special exhibition at the Busan Museum this year. These initiatives have been positively evaluated for promoting genuine recovery in daily life by going beyond trauma healing to include cultural experiences.

Alongside City-level support, Busan Metropolitan City also proactively identified potential conflicts between compensation payments from state lawsuits and eligibility for basic livelihood benefits. By raising this issue with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the City helped lead efforts to introduce a (planned) special provision excluding compensation for state violence cases from property assessments.

Meanwhile, today (the 12th) at 8:00 p.m., the City will invite victims of state violence to the screening of the human rights film Time to Be Strong, which concludes the “2025 Busan Human Rights Week” at the Millak Waterfront Sea Movie Theater, creating a meaningful opportunity to share the value of human rights together.

Going forward, Busan Metropolitan City plans to gradually diversify and expand daily life recovery support measures—such as the “2026 New Year Sunrise Viewing Aboard a Naval Vessel” event—by utilizing available regional resources and strengthening public-private cooperation, in order to heal trauma and support victims’ return to everyday life.

Son Seok-ju, representative of the Association of Victims of the Filmsuk and Jaesaengwon Institutions, stated, “I feel a warmth this year that I have never experienced in my life in terms of the direction, speed, and sincerity of the City’s victim support efforts in the second half of the year.” He added, “I sincerely thank the City and related institutions for actively responding to victims’ needs and taking preemptive action,” and called for continued support and cooperation.

Cho Young-tae, Director General of the Administrative Management Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “Happiness lies not in intensity but in frequency. The City’s support for victims of state violence will not stop at maintaining existing policies; we will continue to provide warmth, like a heated floor in a traditional living room.” He added, “I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the representative local hospitals, medical clinics, institutions, and private organizations that are actively participating in support efforts for victims.”