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Park Gyeong-bo (right), a survivor of the Brothers Home facility, shakes hands with Jung Keun-sik, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea, on Aug. 24 following the commission’s official announcement of the fact-finding inquiry into the Brothers Home case. (Yonhap News)

On Wednesday, South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission found the country’s governments led by military dictators in the 1970s and 80s responsible for various human rights abuses, including illegal confinement, sexual abuse and forced labor, at a facility for those deemed vagrants called Brothers Home.

With this decision, the Brothers Home case was officially recognized as a case of “human rights violations due to state-perpetrated violence” and the former inmates as “victims of human rights violations.”

As of 2022, it has been 35 years since the case first went public as a result of the prosecution’s investigation in 1986 and the opposition’s fact-finding efforts in 1987. The truth was discovered far too late, however.

The additional horrors that have now been revealed are shocking. The total death count of inmates interred at the facility was confirmed to be 105 more than the previously confirmed 552, putting the cumulative total at 657 lives lost there.

According to the commission’s findings, the authorities in charge left out reports of several deaths and even buried some of the deceased in unmarked graves in the mountains behind the facility. It was also revealed that some prisoners who failed to adapt or showed rebellious behavior were controlled by being overdosed with psychiatric drugs.

Testimonies have also been collected pointing to how many children were forcibly taken to Brothers Home and then sent abroad for adoption.

In total, 38,000 victims were detained at the facility between 1975 and 1986.

The Brothers Home case is a clear example of the total failure of the state. The random crackdowns and forcible detention of those deemed vagrants were all based on orders issued by the South Korean government at the time.

According to the findings of the commission, these government directives violated all principles of clarity, proportionality, due process and the need for warrants.

Specific cases in which the government actively used the facility were also found. For instance, the government ordered the forcible detention and monitoring of those who violated the National Security Act and Anti-Communism Act.

Even when complaints about human rights violations were raised, the government did not fulfill its role after the allegations came to light. Instead, the state ignored the prosecution’s investigation and was swayed by external pressure.

The decision of the commission was made four years after the prosecution’s truth and reconciliation commission called for the enactment of a law for fact-finding about the case and to secure damage recovery measures.

“The state should formally apologize to the victims of forced detention at the Brothers Home as well as to their bereaved families and come up with a plan to help them recover from the damage and heal their trauma,” the commission suggested.

The government must thoroughly reflect on and apologize for abandoning the state’s responsibility to protect the human rights of its people.

Victims of the facility have been filing lawsuits against the government seeking compensation for damages for many years. What the government needs is a forward-looking plan to make up for the damages suffered by the victims.

We hope that the government and the National Assembly will take on a more active role in seizing the illegally accumulated family wealth of Park In-geun, the former owner of Brothers Home, through the enactment of a special law or other measures.

Justice must not be delayed any longer.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]