Human Rights Commission: "Comprehensive Review Needed for Involuntary Admission System in Psychiatric Hospitals"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea expressed on the 3rd that the 'voluntary admission' system in psychiatric medical institutions has a high potential for human rights violations and should be thoroughly reconsidered.

Voluntary admission is a type of hospitalization based on the Mental Health Welfare Act, where a person with a mental illness is admitted to a psychiatric medical institution with the consent of a guardian. Although admission is based on the patient's own will, if the patient applies for discharge without the guardian's consent, discharge can be refused for up to 72 hours only if a specialist recognizes the necessity of treatment and protection for the patient, and the admission can be converted to admission by guardian or administrative admission. The proportion of voluntary admissions among all hospitalizations has been increasing annually, at 19.8% in 2018 and 21.2% in 2019.

However, the Human Rights Commission viewed that voluntary admission contradicts the legislative purpose of 'respecting the will of the person concerned' because discharge is not guaranteed without the guardian's consent, and the broad criteria for refusing discharge pose a significant risk of infringing on basic rights due to the guardian's demands rather than the patient's will. In particular, it was confirmed through complaints and ex officio investigations by the Commission that persons with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses who have difficulty communicating or understanding the meaning of the type of admission were subjected to voluntary admission measures.

The Commission pointed out, "It is difficult to see that voluntary admission is based on the person concerned fully understanding and genuinely consenting," and "there is a great risk that it could be distorted into a hospitalization procedure that legally enables long-term hospitalization of patients who could otherwise be discharged."

Accordingly, the Commission conveyed to the Minister of Health and Welfare the opinion that voluntary admission has a high potential to infringe on the basic rights of mental patients' physical freedom and freedom of residence and movement, and that the legislative purpose is being undermined in the implementation process, calling for a thorough reconsideration.