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Park Heong-joon, Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, Orders Thorough Response to Human Rights Violations at Welfare Facilities for Persons with Disabilities and Calls for a Stronger Social Safety Net

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, following a recent violent incident at a day-use facility for persons with disabilities in the city, it will conduct an “emergency human rights status survey” of welfare facilities for persons with disabilities to prevent similar incidents from recurring and strengthen protection of the human rights of persons with disabilities.

This survey is intended to ensure the safety of persons with disabilities who use these facilities and to detect early any cases of abuse, violence, or human rights violations that are more likely to occur in closed environments.

By the end of March, the City will carry out joint inspections involving public officials, police, and external experts at 62 residential facilities for persons with disabilities.

Inspections will focus on physical and emotional abuse of users, whether sexual harassment or sexual violence has occurred, completion status of human rights education within facilities, and the operation status of human rights monitoring teams at residential facilities for persons with disabilities.

Separately, for 68 day-use facilities for persons with disabilities, the City plans to organize dedicated inspection teams to conduct on-site investigations by the end of April and closely review the overall human rights conditions of facility users in detail.

In particular, for facilities where persons with severe disabilities who have difficulty communicating reside, the City plans to assign specialized personnel, including human rights experts, to conduct in-depth interviews.

If evidence of human rights violations or abuse is identified during the inspections, the City will respond firmly by immediately separating victims and alleged perpetrators, requesting investigations by institutions for the advocacy of the rights of persons with disabilities, and, when necessary, filing complaints with investigative authorities.

In addition, the City will apply a zero-tolerance principle, including administrative measures under relevant laws and regulations, to enhance transparency in facility operations and strengthen the duty of employees to protect human rights.

Furthermore, to prevent recurrence, the City will significantly strengthen human rights education for employees of welfare facilities for persons with disabilities. It will expand case-based training that can be applied immediately in the field and provide tailored education programs to enhance employees’ human rights awareness, thereby improving the effectiveness of abuse prevention.

Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “Human rights violations at welfare facilities for persons with disabilities are something that can never be tolerated in our society. Through this emergency human rights status survey, we will build a stronger social safety net where persons with disabilities can live with peace of mind, and we will further reinforce a sustained monitoring and management system that does not end with one-time inspections.”