Economic Exploitation by Acquaintance at Child Welfare Facility
Unable to Pay Utilities for 3 Months, Forced to Leave Rental Apartment
A pair of brothers with intellectual disabilities were exploited for about 80 million won over two years by an acquaintance, putting them in a difficult situation. The police are investigating the case.
According to Yonhap News on the 1st, the brothers in their 20s with intellectual disabilities, surnamed Kim, met Mr. A in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province in 2020. They had lived together in a child welfare facility when they were young.
Afterwards, Mr. A asked the brothers to take out loans citing hospital bills and other reasons. The Kim brothers borrowed a total of 32 million won through secondary financial institutions and daily loans, handing most of it over to Mr. A. In addition, Mr. A promised to pay off the loans under the brothers' names, and the brothers gave the money they earned from daily construction work to Mr. A for two years.
The total amount of money sent to Mr. A by the brothers, including the loan principal and interest, is about 80 million won. Mr. A did not repay a single penny of the loans under the brothers' names during the two years.
The Kim brothers said, "We trusted Mr. A because we had known him for a long time and believed his promise to pay off the loans on our behalf," adding, "If the payments were late, we were verbally abused or hit on the head or chest, but we did not know how to escape from Mr. A."
Eventually, they ran out of money and failed to pay utility bills for over three months, forcing them to vacate the LH rental housing where they had been living. The brothers currently live in a dormitory provided by a construction subcontractor and now reside in a goshiwon (small lodging) in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. A police official investigating the case stated, "The victim's complaint is credible, and we are preparing to send the case to the prosecution."
The number of intellectually disabled people who have suffered economic exploitation like the Kim brothers is considerable.
People with Developmental Disabilities Vulnerable to Economic Exploitation... Ministry of Health and Welfare Classifies Them as 'High-Risk Group for Abuse'
Ministry of Health and Welfare 2021 Report on the Status of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities[Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare]
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's '2021 Disability Abuse Status Report,' 74.1% of all abused disabled individuals (including primary and secondary disabilities) were people with developmental disabilities. People with developmental disabilities were particularly vulnerable to economic exploitation. Among types of abuse, economic exploitation was the second most common, and most of the victims were intellectually disabled individuals, a subgroup of developmental disabilities.
The most common type of economic exploitation was labor exploitation, where wages were not paid for work performed (10.1%), and among the disabled who suffered labor exploitation, 77.2% were intellectually disabled. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare classifies people with developmental disabilities as a 'high-risk group for abuse' and manages them intensively.
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