Saekdongwon facility in Ganghwa County, Incheon, is seen on Feb. 9.YONHAP
Police investigating sexual violence and abuse at Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities in Ganghwa County, Incheon, have identified 10 victims and wrapped up the investigation after 17 months.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s special investigation team said Wednesday that it questioned seven facility workers booked on charges including violating the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. It referred six to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, which has jurisdiction over the facility.
Five of the six suspects are accused of abusing residents, including physical assault, while working at Saekdongwon. The remaining employee faces a charge of violating the Personal Information Protection Act.
Incheon police plan to refer the six to prosecutors soon.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency first received a tip-off early last year alleging that the facility’s director, Kim, had sexually assaulted residents. Police began a preliminary investigation in May of last year.
Police searched Saekdongwon and gathered evidence, but the investigation stalled because they were unable to obtain detailed accounts of abuse from women with developmental disabilities.
The case took a dramatic turn when accounts of sexual abuse from 19 women — 17 residents and two former residents — surfaced in a report by a Woosuk University research team, reported by the JoongAng Ilbo.
Kim, center, the director of Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with developmental disabilities in Ganghwa County, Incheon, speaks at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 19.YONHAP
A special investigation team of about 70 officers was formed in January of this year on the orders of then-Prime Minister Kim Min-seok. Police have since interviewed and investigated 62 of the 87 people who had lived at Saekdongwon, excluding 25 who had died, as well as 240 employees.
In February, police detained and referred Kim on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. Two employees accused of assaulting residents were referred around the same time.
Police later referred Kim on additional allegations that he embezzled 7.1 million won ($5,300) in subsidies and other funds and misappropriated 18.98 million won in donations.
A court sentenced Kim to 15 years in prison over the sexual abuse in August. The two employees were indicted early last month.
The exterior of Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities in Ganghwa County, Incheon, on Feb. 9YONHAP
The special investigation team ultimately identified 10 victims. Three were victims of sexual violence and seven were victims of physical assault.
The National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency, however, plans to keep looking into whether there were additional victims of sexual violence at the request of a joint committee formed in response to the case.
The Incheon Metropolitan City government ordered Saekdongwon to close and, in May, revoked the license of the nonprofit that operates the facility. The organization that runs Saekdongwon challenged the decision in court, and the case is ongoing.
Separately, the Incheon Metropolitan City government is helping former residents move toward independent living in the community.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has also launched an ex officio investigation into whether victims were given a meaningful chance to take part in police investigations into human rights abuses at residential facilities for people with disabilities.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
