Chairperson Changho Ahn Defines Violence Against People With Disabilities as a "Structural Disaster"

Demand for Withdrawal of Subsidies in Cases of Human Rights Violations at Disability Standard Workplaces

The Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission has defined the ongoing violence against people with disabilities—especially violence targeting women with disabilities—as a "structural disaster" facing Korean society, and has called for institutional reforms.

Ahn Changho, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. Photo by Yonhap News

On August 10, Ahn Changho, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, issued a statement emphasizing, "The right to testify must be ensured so that victims with disabilities can fully describe their experience during investigations, and strict supervision is required to prevent violence in standard workplaces for people with disabilities." This comes in the wake of a sexual violence case at Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, and allegations of sexual assault against a female worker with an intellectual disability at a standard workplace for people with disabilities in Namdong-gu. His remarks are seen as a call for systematic regulation to manage violence against people with disabilities.

Chairperson Ahn also stressed the importance of substantively guaranteeing the testimonial rights of victims with disabilities during criminal proceedings. The Commission had previously recommended, through an ex officio investigation in 2024, that investigative agencies ensure the right to testify for people with disabilities. However, civic groups and other organizations have raised concerns that, in actual investigations, testimonial assistants are often not present, and measures to prevent secondary victimization are inadequate. In particular, he emphasized that when investigating cases involving developmentally disabled individuals, a dedicated investigator must participate to ensure an investigative system that takes into account the characteristics of victims with disabilities.

Chairperson Ahn stated, "The occurrence of violence against people with disabilities at standard workplaces funded by the government indicates problems with the current system of supervision and oversight." He pointed out that, "Under the existing system, certification for standard workplaces can only be revoked if human rights violations occur three or more times within two years, making it difficult to take timely action." He added, "For workplaces where serious human rights violations are identified, certification should be revoked immediately and subsidies should be retrieved. In addition, standard workplaces for people with disabilities should be added to the list of institutions legally required to report abuse of people with disabilities."

The National Human Rights Commission plans to ensure that the police guarantee the testimonial rights of victims with disabilities, and to work with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities to improve related systems for standard workplaces for people with disabilities.

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