▲ Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks at a meeting of a task force set up to address allegations of sexual abuse at a facility for the disabled, at the government complex in Seoul on Feb. 5, 2026. (Yonhap)

PM-sexual abuse

PM orders thorough probe into alleged sexual abuse at facility for people with disabilities

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Thursday ordered a swift and thorough probe into allegations of sexual abuse at a facility for people with disabilities.

Kim made the remark during the inaugural meeting of an interagency task force set up to address allegations that the head of the facility in Incheon, west of Seoul, sexually abused multiple people housed there.

Police have launched a special investigation unit to handle the case and put the number of victims at least six, while a survey commissioned by the county of Ganghwa, where the facility is located, found 19 victims, all women in their 30s to 60s.

Kim described the allegations as "a clear threat to the most vulnerable people of our society" and a "grave case that questions the reason for the state's existence."

He expressed shock that no institution has taken action over the 10 or so years that the abuse is believed to have taken place, and called for treating the case not as a standalone incident but as an opportunity to prevent similar abuses in the future.

"I ask (the police) to fully mobilize professional investigative personnel and outside experts to conduct an investigation without sanctuaries, as the life of an investigation is in its promptness and thoroughness," the prime minister said, noting that those who failed to meet their duty to check on the facility should be held accountable.

"By speedily announcing investigation results that are acceptable by the people, I hope you will prove the determination of the government," he said.

Kim also said that in talks with President Lee Jae Myung, Lee expressed a high level of interest in the case and repeatedly stressed the importance of swiftly conducting the investigation.

The head of the facility, surnamed Kim, has been questioned by police and reportedly denied most of the accusations of sexual abuse.

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