Alleged abuse charges were pressed on eight caregivers at a rehabilitation center for the disabled in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday.

According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the accused are being charged for hitting and inflicting injuries as well as sexually harassing disabled students at the facility. 

The NHRCK discovered the gross negligence of human rights after an inspection of the institute since October 2015, following the regional government’s request.

As of December 2015, the facility had 68 disabled residents, 75 percent of whom had intellectual disabilities. The rest suffered brain lesions. Thirty-nine people were in charge of looking after them.

In another subsidiary facility within the institute, 78 inhabitants, half of them below 18 years old, resided under the care of 47 caregivers. Sixty percent of inhabitants suffered brain lesions, 20 percent were intellectually disabled and the remaining 20 percent had other disabilities.

The NHRCK said that in the five years since 2010, 14 disabled students at the institute had been severely abused.

Victims were found to have been struck with iron pipes or pointed weapons for reasons such as not following instructions or not sleeping at night. Four victims were found to have been sexually harassed.

The NHRCK pressed charges on the accused to prosecutors and advised the regional government to replace the institute’s head, penalize the staff as well as conduct a human rights advisory program within the institute.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)