The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has revealed serious human rights violations at Bucheon Medical Center, where a patient was restrained by having their arms tied to the bed for an unprecedented 10 months. The commission emphasized the need for 'physical freedom protection' in mental health institutions and announced recommendations on December 16 to the hospital's director and local government to prevent such occurrences in the future. This investigation was prompted by a complaint alleging that the hospital staff had been coercively restraining patients without proper documentation and falsely billing for services that were never rendered.

In August, two months after the complaint, the Human Rights Commission conducted an unannounced inspection at the facility, which has been operational since 2016. The commission's findings revealed shocking practices, including unauthorized locks on open wards that restricted patients' access and arbitrary restraints on at least 52 patients as per a standard practice referred to as 'necessary coercion'. Recurring issues included severe cases where patients were tied up, with their hands and feet restrained for nearly all hours except during meals.

The chairperson of the commission's committee on disability discrimination underscored the necessity for adhering to constitutional legal processes in the treatment of individuals with mental health issues, highlighting that any limitation of physical freedom must be kept to a minimum. The recommendations also urged the hospital to reassess its admissions process for patients unable to communicate, remove locking devices from open wards, and improve the current practices surrounding so-called 'necessary coercion' orders issued by physicians, advocating for a more humane approach to psychiatric treatment.