By Lee Kyung-min
The police plan to hospitalize “potentially dangerous” mentally-ill people is gaining more attention following a recent series of crimes committed by them.
Although police say preventing similar crimes would be best achieved by separating such people from society, psychiatrists argue that it only stigmatizes the vulnerable who require treatment, and violates their human rights.
The measure came about a week after a man with schizophrenia stabbed a woman to death in the restroom of a bar near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul on May 16.
While controversy was erupting over the police announcement, similar incidents took place. Kim Hag-bong, a 61-year-old who was on medication for schizophrenia, stabbed a woman to death on Mount Surak in Seoul on May 29. He had only been released from prison four months earlier after serving 15 years for robbery and murder, before which he had been treated on five occasions at psychiatric facilities.
On May 25, a 51-year-old mentally-ill man in Busan attacked two people with a wooden stick without any apparent reason.
Police said they would actively carry out an “administrative hospitalization” system, under which they can have mentally-ill people, who are deemed likely to harm others, hospitalized with the approval of local authorities.
But the measure is causing concern about violating their human rights. The National Human Rights Commission warned against possible prejudice against the mentally-ill.
Experts also say the actual number of crimes committed by those people is very small.
“According to police, out of the total of 913 murders in 2014, only 0.5 percent were committed by the mentally-ill,” an official from the Korea Health Promotion Foundation said.
Causing groundless fear against them or segregating them from society discourages them from seeking treatment, according to the official.
“For those who are vulnerable, leading healthy lives is possible only with society’s support and encouragement. I hope that society can properly address the human rights of the mentally-ill,” he said.