Prime Minister
Han Seung-soo |
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo offered a formal apology Saturday to sufferers of leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, living on Sorok Island where patients have maintained an isolated and repressive life for decades.
It was first time for a sitting prime minister to visit the remote island off the southwestern Jeolla coast and apologize.
Han said, ``It took so long for the nation's prime minister to meet people with leprosy. On behalf of the government, I offer deep apologies and condolences to the patients and their families who had unspeakable suffering amid social discrimination and prejudice.''
The prime minister made the remarks in a speech he delivered during a ceremony to mark the Day for Leprosy Patients at Sorok Hospital on the island.
Since 1916 during the Japanese colonial period, Sorok Island has served as a shelter for leprosy victims.
After the nation's liberation from Japan in 1945, however, the government didn't liberate the afflicted until 1963, drawing criticism for further isolating them from society. Even those who were cured, many of who still live there, weren't allowed to leave the island.
Prime Minister Han said that the government would do its utmost to protect their rights and welfare.
The government will take more substantial action for them to put their trust in its pledge, he said.
Historically, leprosy has affected mankind since 600 B.C. It was named after Norwegian Doctor G. H. Armauer Hansen who discovered the bacteria that caused the disease in 1873. Despite the fact that it is curable, it has carried the stigma of being the opposite and is seen as highly contagious, resulting in isolating patients from human contact.
In 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that between two to three million people were disabled because of the disease.
A record of the first leprosy patient in Korea wasn't found for this article. Yet, according to statistics in 2005, the number of Hansen's sufferers with active bacteria totaled 500 with the majority having been cured ― the total number including those being cured of the disease was nearly 17,000.
Many leprosy experts in Korea insist that raising awareness of the disease be prioritized.
The Korean Hansen Welfare Association is part of efforts, devoted to spreading the truth about the disease on its Web site: www.khwa.or.kr.
One of the slogans on the Web site reads, ``Knowing Hansen's disease and getting rid of prejudice over it would create a better united world.''
skim@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
