Seo Mi-hyeon, a woman with an intellectual disability, reported being sexually assaulted by the director of Saekdongwon, a state-run care home for disabled individuals in Incheon, South Korea. The abuse began shortly after Seo moved to the facility in 2016 and continued until February 2025 when she suffered a head injury during an assault attempt. Kim, the director, was sentenced to 15 years in prison but is appealing the conviction. The case has raised concerns about state care for disabled individuals, as some residents were reportedly made to call Kim "Dad," highlighting the power imbalance between caregiver and resident.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
"I was hurting inside, so I came to tell my story."
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I → publish → story
Seo, who has an intellectual disability, struggles to form long sentences and can only communicate through brief words and gestures.
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who → have → words
But her memories of the abuse inflicted upon her were clear.
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memories → inflict → her
She was one of three residents at a state-run care home in South Korea who were sexually assaulted by the home's director, in a case that has shocked the country and raised serious questions about state care for the disabled.
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that → run → disabled
Earlier this month, a court in Seoul sentenced the director - who has only been identified by his surname Kim - to 15 years in prison.
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who → sentence → prison
Kim is appealing the conviction.
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Kim → appeal → conviction
The court had heard that some residents were made to call the director "Dad", which prosecutors said illustrated the unequal relationship between Kim and those in his care.
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prosecutors → hear → care
The ruling came nearly two years after Seo, who is in her 40s, first disclosed the abuse to her mother.
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who → come → mother
We have changed Seo's name and the names of another victim in this story to protect their identities.
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'I just endured it'
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I → endure → it
Seo first began living in Saekdongwon, a care home for the intellectually disabled, in 2016.
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Seo → begin → 2016
The institute, located in the city of Incheon, is fully subsidised by the state and still houses some 33 residents, although it has been asked to close down in light of this case.
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it → locate → case
According to Seo, the abuse began shortly after she began living there, with Kim visiting her at night or in the early hours of the morning to rape her.
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Kim → accord → her
Speaking through her lawyer Ko Eun-young, Seo said there was no adult at the facility she could speak to about the abuse, adding that she felt that other staff members would not help her.
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members → speak → her
The care home has not responded to this allegation.
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home → respond → allegation
That was her life for almost 10 years, until the case came to light in February 2025, when Seo suffered a head injury.
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Seo → come → injury
She said it happened one of the times Kim tried to sexually assault her.
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Kim → say → her
She had blocked him with her hands, causing him to throw a glass at her.
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him → block → her
Her lawyer told the court that the care home took Seo to hospital and informed her mother about the incident only after the wound on her head had been stitched up.
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wound → tell → head
According to Seo's lawyer, Seo's mother had asked to see CCTV footage to establish how her daughter had been injured, but the facility refused, saying they were not authorised to release it.
As a result, her mother brought her home and decided to withdraw her from the facility.
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mother → accord → facility
It was only after Seo was told that she would not have to return to the home that she disclosed the sexual abuse to her mum, who then reported it to the police.
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who → tell → police
"I thought it was safe to speak because I was told I didn't have to go back to Saekdongwon," Seo told the BBC via her lawyer.
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Seo → think → lawyer
When asked how she had managed on her own for so many years, she said: "I just endured it."
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I → ask → it
A police investigation into Seo's account was then widened to other residents.
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investigation → widen → residents
They found at least two other alleged victims, including Lee Mi-Na, who said that she was also raped by Kim.
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she → find → Kim
Earlier this month, a judge found all three victims' testimony credible.
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testimony → find → ?
He was sentenced to 15 years in jail for raping Lee and Seo, five years less than the original sentence prosecutors were asking for.
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prosecutors → sentence → sentence
He has denied all allegations and has since appealed the ruling.
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For the third victim, Kim was found guilty of a lesser charge of sexual violence, with the judge saying the charge of rape against her was dropped as they could not find conclusive evidence that "force or threats [were used] that rendered the victim unable to resist".
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victim → find → evidence
A joint response committee made up of disability rights and other civic groups have criticsed this ruling, saying a victim's ability to resist an assault should not impact the verdict they receive.
The committee has also criticised the investigation process, saying there was a failure to identify more potential victims.
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committee → make → victims
In November last year, following the initial allegations of abuse, local authorities from Ganghwa County had commissioned a team from Woosuk University to conduct an in-depth assessment of Saekdongwon's residents.
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authorities → follow → residents
The report, which was submitted to the court as evidence, found indications that many more residents - at least 10 - could have been sexually assaulted by Kim.
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residents → submit → Kim
But during the trial, the court did not address this finding.
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court → address → finding
According to local media reports, police had struggled to establish details of alleged abuse when interviewing residents, because most of them had severe disabilities and faced difficulties communicating.
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most → accord → difficulties
Some residents reportedly gave answers unrelated to the questions or did not respond at all.
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residents → give → questions
Kim has not responded to allegations that he may have abused more residents.
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he → respond → residents
Jeon Ji-su, the professor who led the Woosuk research team, told the BBC that investigators had accepted "only the accounts of people who could describe the abuse in complete sentences".
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who → lead → sentences
But activists said that this reliance on verbal testimony meant the police failed to recognise residents with greater communication difficulties as victims.
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police → say → victims
"If victims express their experiences differently from the way we expect, shouldn't the state make a greater effort to hear their voices?" said Baek In-seong, of Hansahoe, a counselling centre for survivors of sexual violence with disabilities.
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seong → express → disabilities
Police have said that "while there may have been shortcomings in individual instances, these should not be taken as representative of the investigation as a whole".
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these → say → whole
…and 34 more, not listed.
The Aporia
