The suspect in the abuse case at a residential facility for persons with disabilities in Sejong has been arrested and forwarded to the prosecution. This comes five months after the police acknowledged inadequacies in their initial investigation and initiated a reinvestigation.

The Strong-Drug Crime Investigation Unit of the Sejong Provincial Police Agency announced on the 23rd that they had arrested and forwarded Mr. A (in his 30s), a staff member at the facility, to the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office on the 13th on charges of violating the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act.

Reinvestigation began in May, about a year after the incident occurred. Based on eyewitness testimonies within the facility and Mr. A's working hours, police secured circumstantial evidence to prove the charges and obtained an arrest warrant on the 7th.

Previously, the police had cleared Mr. A of charges citing insufficient evidence, but this reinvestigation overturned the initial judgment.

The incident came to light when Mr. B, a resident in his 40s with a developmental disability at "Haettneun House," a residential facility for the intellectually disabled in Sejong, was diagnosed with rib and spine fractures and hemothorax, requiring 12 weeks of medical treatment in January 2025, raising suspicions of abuse within the facility.

The Sejong Agency for Advocacy of Rights of Persons with Disabilities comprehensively reviewed eyewitness testimonies and determined the case to be "physical abuse," requesting an investigation. Subsequently, the city issued an administrative disposition of improvement orders to the facility.

However, citing insufficient evidence to prove the charges, the police closed the case in June of the same year with a not-guilty disposition.

Later, suspicions of a "shoddy investigation" poured out as it was revealed that the police investigation proceeded without a statement assistant for the person with disabilities, and that Mr. B's formal statement and eyewitness testimonies were excluded when the case was closed.

In response, the Sejong Provincial Police Agency supplemented the investigation procedures by involving Mr. B's statement assistant and launched a reinvestigation in May 2026.

Prior to this, civil society held consecutive rallies, signature campaigns, and press conferences, raising voices demanding a thorough investigation into the suspected disability abuse, preventive measures, and a review of Sejong City's administrative improvement order.

Attention is now focused on whether this reinvestigation result will lead investigative agencies to conduct thorough investigations based on principles, clarify clear causes, and bring about responsible follow-up measures.

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