Park Mijeong, Gwangju City Council Member, Says "Violence Against Social Welfare Workers Is Severe"

Forum on Support Measures for Social Welfare Workers Victimized by Violence
62% Experienced Verbal Abuse, 47% Physical Violence
Proposals Include Establishing a Rights Support Center and Mandating CCTV

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council, held the "Gwangju Social Welfare Workers Violence Victim Support Measures Forum" on the 14th in the City Council Budget and Accounts Committee meeting room to raise awareness of the seriousness of violence faced by social welfare facility workers and to seek solutions. Provided by Gwangju City Council

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Dong-gu District 2), held the "Gwangju Social Welfare Workers Violence Victim Support Measures Forum" on August 14 in the City Council Budget and Accounts Committee meeting room.

This event, co-hosted by the Gwangju City Council, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Gwangju Social Service Institute, and Gwangju Council on Social Welfare, was organized to raise awareness of the severity of violence faced by social welfare facility workers and to seek fundamental solutions.

At the forum, Ko Jeongguk, a researcher at the Gwangju Social Service Institute, delivered a keynote presentation on "Current Status of Client Violence Victimization and Recovery Support Measures for Gwangju Social Welfare Workers."

According to the research findings, 62.2% of respondents had experienced verbal abuse, 47.2% had suffered physical violence, and 30.8% had considered leaving their jobs as a result.

Particularly noteworthy is the response to incidents of violence: rather than following official procedures, many workers either shared their experiences informally with colleagues (38.8%) or did not respond at all (10.7%). This highlights the structural problems present in the field.

Proposed solutions included: establishing a rights support center; mandating safety infrastructure such as CCTV; building a support system for replacement personnel to guarantee separation and paid leave for victims of violence; and expanding psychological counseling and treatment support.

Chairing the forum, Councilor Park emphasized, "Welfare workers are the backbone of citizen welfare, yet they are left defenseless against violence. Ensuring the safety of workers is directly linked to the quality of welfare, making urgent institutional improvements necessary." She added, "I hope this forum will serve as a catalyst for realizing 'recovery-centered social welfare' as a policy."

Meanwhile, in 2024, Councilor Park took the lead in establishing an institutional foundation for human rights protection in the welfare sector by sponsoring the "Ordinance on the Improvement of Treatment and Status of Gwangju Social Welfare Workers and Others."