Incheon court sentences worker for 228 assaults on disabled person

The Incheon District Court has issued sentences regarding a case involving the repeated abuse of a person with developmental disabilities at a service center in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.

A female employee in her 50s was sentenced to four years in prison for assaulting a victim 228 times and committing two instances of sexual molestation between October 2024 and April 2025. The court also ordered 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and a five-year ban from working in institutions related to children, youth, or the disabled. The center director received a fine of 10 million won for failing to fulfill duties to prevent and manage abuse.

However, the court acquitted a male employee charged with emotional abuse for intentionally ignoring a victim's requests to use the restroom, citing CCTV evidence that the individual was eventually taken to the bathroom.

The Incheon Association for the Elimination of Discrimination against the Disabled criticized the ruling, stating it failed to understand the characteristics of developmental disabilities. The association expressed regret that the sentence for the primary perpetrator was lighter than the seven-year prison term requested by prosecutors and called for an immediate appeal.