Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on the 30th ordered a swift and thorough fact-finding probe into allegations of sexual violence against women with disabilities at Saekdongwon, a residential facility for people with severe disabilities on Ganghwa Island, Incheon.
After receiving a related report that day, the prime minister issued an urgent order to "form a pan-ministerial joint response task force (TF) centered on the Office for Government Policy Coordination and clearly determine the facts."
He also called for exhaustive efforts to protect and support the victims, along with measures to fill institutional blind spots. The TF will include the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korean National Police Agency, and local governments.
In particular, the prime minister stressed to the Korean National Police Agency that it should organize a special investigation team with investigators specialized in disability cases and outside experts to concentrate investigative resources, and ensure there are no lapses in protecting the victims. He also instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare to conduct, jointly with relevant agencies, a full-scale survey of human rights protections and overall management conditions at residential facilities for people with disabilities nationwide, and to prepare plans to improve the system.
Earlier, at Saekdongwon, police launched an investigation after allegations surfaced that the facility director, identified only as A, committed sexual violence against all women with severe disabilities who had been residing there.