- Illegal and forced hospitalization.
- Failure to properly conclude effectiveness of hospitalization.
- Forgery of medical records.
- Refusal to discharge patients from mental health facilities.
- Unlawful separation and duress.
- Unreasonable limitations on the freedom of correspondence.
- Excessive CCTV installations in facilities.
- Frequent violence against patients.
These human rights abuses, among other, are commonplace at mental health facilities. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) views these violations as direct abuses against persons with mental disabilities, and admonishes facilities for the high rate at which abuses still occur.
Since its establishment, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has consistently issued recommendations to mental health facilities and supervisory authorities, in regards to human rights violations at their facilities. Nonetheless, similar human rights abuses persist. The Commission has analyzed 10 typical complaints received from January to July of 2007, and released the results of the analysis on August 2, 2007. The report admonished particular mental health facilities for being “dead zone[s] of human rights.”
The following outline highlights the most common human rights abuses found at mental health facilities in the Commission’s investigations.
1. Human rights violations pertaining to the admittance, extended hospitalization and release of patients to or from facilities:
ㅇFailure to produce diagnosis by psychiatrist stating need for hospitalization.
- Failure to obtain written diagnosis and consent for hospitalization from a psychiatrist.
- Failure to request written consent from an approved doctor.
These acts directly violate Articles 24 and 40 of the Mental Health Act. Violations of these acts may result in up to five years, of prison or a fine up to 20 million won and/or prosecution by a prosecutor.
ㅇ Failure to obtain consent from a qualified legal guardian on behalf of the patient for new or extended hospitalization.
- Failure to search for an appropriate legal guardian. ‘Legal guardian’, under the Mental Health Act, is defined as: “persons who have the obligation to support (lineal blood relatives, spouses and relatives living together).”
- Failure to confirm relationship of alleged legal guardian to patient..
- Failure to obtain prior consent for hospitalization from legal guardians, and obtaining consent after hospitalization begins.
- Failure to eliminate the recurrence of these cases while deliberating whether or not to continue hospitalization for a patient.
Hospitalization with the consent of a person that is not a legal guardian of a patient is illegal under the Criminal Act (unlawful hospitalization). A patient may only be admitted to a mental health facility after confirmation of guardianship and relationship.
ㅇ Failure to properly diagnose a patient for further hospitalization (may result in up to one year in prison or a fine up to 5 million won), and failure to comply with release orders (may result in up to five years in prison or a fine up to 20 million won.)
- Failure to regularly review a patient’s need for hospitalization every six months.
- Failure to notify the legal guardian of the review.
- Failure to comply with release orders from the Mental Health Decision Committee, when continued hospitalization is requested by the legal guardian.
- Failure to notify a patient of a release order.
- Failure to reasonably obtain consent from legal guardian of patient through the use of voluntary consent forms.
ㅇ Failure to produce written reasoning for new or extended hospitalization, failure to acknowledge discharge requests.
- Failure to give a written notice (may result in a fine up to 1,000,000 for negligence), Article 24(5) of the Mental Health Act (Notification) and Article 59 of the Mental Health Act.
- Failure to educate facility staff of these provisions.
2. Human rights violations pertaining to the infringement of personal freedom due to excessive separation and restraint (duress):
ㅇ Failure to comply with existing separation and duress guidelines.
- Failure to explain reasoning for restraint to legal guardians before and after restraint occurs.
- Failure to produce doctor’s instructions for separation or restraint.
- Failure to maintain reasonable length or frequency of separation and restraint.
- Failure to tend to and evaluate patients properly during separation and restraint.
- Failure to employ separation and restraint for medical purposes, by using these measures for control or punishment.
3. Uniform restrictions on patients’ rights, as a result of closed ward operation:
ㅇ Failure to educate staff of patients’ rights and failure to implement infrastructure to guarantee rights.
- Failure to uphold patients’ freedom of correspondence, including mail censorship, telephone supervision and arbitrary inspections.
- Failure to uphold privacy of patients while using restrooms with excessive installations of CCTV, and other excessive restrictions on right to human dignity, health and privacy.
- Failure to uphold patients’ freedom of religion, by requiring patients to have a specific religion or attend certain religious events.
- Failure to uphold patients’ rights to safety in the event of an emergency, by installing iron locks on doors.
- Failure to install a NHRCK complaint box and failure to educate patients of their right to submit complaints, violating Article 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act.
4. Lack of medical practitioners and failure to meet facility operation standards:
ㅇ Failure to provide sufficient medical treatment time, including a doctor’s meeting with patients, often due to the insufficient number of medical practitioners and psychiatrists.
ㅇ Failure to accommodate patients in reasonable numbers, by overcrowding dozens of patients in a ward designed for 10 patients.
- Failure to secure privacy of patients, due to overcrowding of facilities.
5. Labor in the name of occupational therapy:
ㅇ Failure to properly treat patients in need of occupational therapy, by employing patients as ‘service persons’ in cafeterias, laundry rooms or ward room cleaning for long hours for menial monetary compensation—far less than minimum wage—in the name of occupational therapy.
ㅇFailure to offer consistent occupational therapy programs and dedicated personnel for patients in need.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has declared the improvement of human rights conditions for persons with disabilities as a top priority for 2007. The Commission has been carefully following and issuing recommendations to benefit this sector of our community, and will continue to closely monitor the human rights of persons with disabilities until significant improvements have been achieved.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was established in 2001 to promote human rights education and defend those who have experienced discrimination, or have had a right violated, in Korea. The Commission offers counseling, full investigation and protection for citizens, along with educational initiatives for organizations.
