Miae Kim Proposes Special Act on Investigation and Victim Recovery for Human Rights Violations at Group Detention Facilities

Compensation to Victims to Be Prepaid by the State

"Significance Lies in Establishing a State Responsibility System"

A bill has been introduced in the National Assembly to investigate the truth behind human rights violation cases that have occurred at group detention facilities nationwide, to restore the honor of the victims, and to pursue their substantial recovery as a responsibility of the state.

Miae Kim, Member of the People Power Party and Deputy Chief of Policy at the floor leadership, representing Haeundae-gu (district) in Busan, announced on the 28th that she has sponsored the “Special Act on Investigation of Human Rights Violation Cases at Group Detention Facilities and Restoration of Victims’ Honor,” which includes these provisions.

Miae Kim, member of the People Power Party

This bill clearly designates the state as the compensation authority and establishes grounds for the state to provide relief to victims first and subsequently exercise the right of recourse against those found responsible through a final court ruling, among other measures. The aim is to establish a state-responsible system that enables prompt recovery for victims and implements the principle of holding responsible parties accountable.

Furthermore, the bill covers all group detention facilities that have been operated, supported, managed, or supervised by the state or local governments, allowing the currently fragmented victim recovery procedures at each facility to be integrated into a single framework for state accountability. The key is to consistently pursue everything from truth-finding and victim determination to compensation, restoration of honor, and social healing under a unified legal system.

To this end, the bill calls for the establishment of a “Commission on Fact-Finding and Restoration of Honor for Human Rights Violation Cases at Group Detention Facilities” under the Prime Minister. It stipulates that in cases where the Past Affairs Settlements Committee for Truth and Reconciliation has already made a truth-finding decision, compensation and support shall be provided promptly based on that finding. If truth-finding has not yet been conducted, the new commission may directly investigate upon a victim’s application or by its own initiative, thereby minimizing blind spots in victim recovery.

Kim stated, "Until now, victims of the same state violence have been subjected to different laws and procedures simply because the facilities involved were different," and emphasized, "Now, we must integrate the truth-finding and victim recovery system from the perspective of state responsibility rather than facility-based differences."

She continued, "Given the average age of the victims, ultimately, this is a matter of speed," and pointed out, "No matter how good the system may be, if it is not implemented while the victims are alive, it is meaningless." She added, "We will do our utmost to ensure that this bill is thoroughly discussed and swiftly passed during the regular session of the National Assembly."

This legislation also serves as a follow-up measure to recommendations made by the UN Committee Against Torture in 2024, which urged the South Korean government to amend domestic laws and take necessary steps to guarantee that facility victims receive effective relief and compensation even if they do not file an official complaint.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.