Director of South Korean Disabled Care Home Sentenced to 15 Years for Rape
A court in Seoul sentenced the director of the state-run Saekdongwon home, identified only as Kim, to 15 years in prison for raping two intellectually disabled residents, prompting nationwide outrage.
Seoul judges sentenced Kim, the director of Saekdongwon, a state-funded care home in Incheon, to 15 years for raping two residents, Seo Mi-hyeon and Lee Mi-Na, after hearing their detailed testimonies. A third resident received a conviction for sexual violence, with the rape charge dropped due to insufficient evidence of force. The abuse reportedly began shortly after the women moved into the facility in 2016, with Kim allegedly visiting them at night to commit the assaults.
A university-led assessment suggested that at least ten more residents might have been victimised, but the court did not address that finding. Disability-rights groups criticised the reliance on verbal accounts and the limited scope of the investigation. The local government has ordered Saekdongwon to close and is arranging independent-living plans for its residents, while the director remains free pending an appeal.
Why it matters
The case exposes deep gaps in protecting disabled people in state care and could drive systemic reforms.
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