Court orders state compensation for Brothers Welfare Center victims

Former detainees of Brothers Welfare Center speak at the press conference in Seoul, Dec. 21. Yonhap

A court on Thursday ordered the state to compensate victims of human rights abuses at a now-defunct detention facility for vagrants in the southeastern city of Busan.

The Seoul Central District Court said the state must pay 26 former detainees of the Brothers Welfare Center 80 million won ($61,400) each per year of detention. The ruling came after the 26 people launched damages suits, asking the state for combined compensation of 20.3 billion won.

It is the first time that the court has acknowledged the state's responsibility for compensating the Brothers Welfare Center victims.

The center was established in 1975 in the name of purifying society and rehabilitating vagrants. It was accused of massive human rights abuses, such as illegal detentions, forced labor, beatings and sexual violence. Until it closed in 1987, 513 inmates died, according to its records. Some of their bodies were buried secretly.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded in August last year that the Brothers Welfare Center case was a serious violation of human rights caused by the state's unjust exercise of public power.

At that time, the commission recommended that the detainees be recognized as victims and granted an official apology and compensation, presuming that about 38,000 people were detained by the center from 1975 to 1986 and 657 of them died. (Yonhap)