4 Out of 10 Nurses Report Experiencing Human Rights Violations... 76% Give Up on Reporting or Responding

Korean Nurses Association and Health Workers' Union Host Parliamentary Policy Forum

"84% Believe Reporting Will Not Bring Change"

Structural Issues Include Staff Shortages and Inadequate Education

Four out of ten nurses working in medical institutions have experienced human rights violations over the past year. More than three out of four nurses who suffered such violations did not report them or take any action, with the primary reason being a lack of trust that reporting would lead to organizational change.

On the 6th, participants are speaking at the "Policy Forum on Preventing and Responding to Human Rights Violations of Nurses in Medical Institutions," held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Korea Nurses Association

The Korea Nurses Association’s Nursing Labor Reform Committee announced the results of the “2026 Survey on the Working Environment of Nurses in Medical Institutions” at the “Policy Forum on Preventing Human Rights Violations and Improving the Working Environment for Nurses in Medical Institutions” held on the 6th.

Among the 2,105 nurses working in medical institutions who participated in this survey, 41.0% responded that they had experienced human rights violations in the past year. By type, verbal abuse accounted for the largest proportion at 88.9%, followed by workplace bullying at 67.1%, sexual violence at 17.7%, and physical violence at 17.0%.

Furthermore, 76.4% of those who experienced human rights violations did not take any particular action. The top reason for not responding was “I felt there would be no change even if I reported it,” cited by 83.8%, followed by “concerns about being disadvantaged in promotion or daily organizational life” at 36.7%, and “fear of retaliation by the perpetrator” at 27.5%.

Even when actual reports or actions were taken, the results often fell short of expectations. After taking action, 68.1% said that there was no change in the institution. A separation from the perpetrator was cited in only 12.7% of cases, official measures were taken in 7.4%, and only 2.5% responded that the issue was resolved or the situation improved.

The Korea Nurses Association pointed out that human rights violations in medical institutions are not simply personal conflicts, but a structural issue arising from a combination of staff shortages, excessive workloads, inadequate training, a hierarchical organizational culture, and insufficient systems to protect victims.

When asked about the most urgent measure needed to protect human rights, 80.7% of respondents chose “increasing the nursing workforce.” This was followed by strengthening legal protection (47.6%), improving organizational culture and eradicating taeeum (a bullying culture in nursing) (41.9%), reinforcing violence prevention (39.2%), and enhancing the institution’s protective systems (31.4%).

The survey also uncovered problems in education for new nurses. 58.7% of new nurses received less than one week of training before being assigned to a department. The assignment of nurse educators varied significantly by type of medical institution, and the number of patients assigned to a single nurse in general wards differed by a factor of three to four times between tertiary hospitals and small- to medium-sized hospitals.

During the forum, several participants argued that to reduce human rights violations, it is necessary to move away from expecting individual nurses to merely adapt to or endure the organizational culture, and instead to fundamentally change the working environment itself.

Lee Sujin, an Assemblywoman from the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized, “While laws and systems are making step-by-step progress, many nurses still do not feel these changes in practice,” adding, “It is important to ensure that laws and systems are implemented in actual hospital settings.” Assemblyman So Byunghoon of the Democratic Party of Korea also addressed the reality that nurses remain silent out of concerns for disadvantage or secondary victimization after reporting, stressing, “This should not be dismissed as a matter of individual adaptation or endurance.”

A nurse with experience working in a university hospital emergency room stated, “Rather than viewing this as a conflict between nurses, please look at the structure that drives nurses into such situations. Without sufficient training time, the process of teaching new nurses can itself give rise to scolding and bullying.”

Oh Sunyoung, Director of Policy at the Korean Health & Medical Workers’ Union, said, “Staff shortages, excessive workloads, emotional labor, and verbal and physical abuse are intertwining, exacerbating nurse burnout and turnover,” and proposed measures such as securing an adequate workforce, legally mandating patient-to-nurse ratios, securing substitute staff to guarantee break times, and expanding the number of dedicated nurse educators.

Cho Hajin, Director of Nursing Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, emphasized, “It is difficult to fundamentally address human rights violations against nurses if we view them merely as interpersonal conflicts or internal problems within a specific occupation. Appropriate working conditions, sufficient education, a mutually respectful organizational culture, and systems for counseling, reporting, and protecting victims must all be established together.”

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