Indian man files petition to S. Korean rights watchdog for physical abuse during deportation

SEOUL, October 9 - An Indian man has lodged a petition with South Korea's National Human Rights Commission, alleging physical abuse and violations of his bodily autonomy and dignity during his deportation. The petition, submitted last Friday, details the man's detention at a holding center in Hwaseong, approximately 40 kilometers south of Seoul, for about eight months prior to his forcible removal.

Under South Korean immigration law, deportees are permitted to remain in such facilities for a maximum of nine months. The petition states that the man was restrained using duct tape around his mouth and endured physical assaults, including being hit in the cheek and choked, upon arrival at the airport for deportation.

The incident came to light after Representative Park Eun-jung, a member of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, shared body camera footage provided by the justice ministry in response to a parliamentary audit of the ministry. The footage captured the man expressing his reluctance to resist arrest and being instructed by an officer to cease talking.

In response to the footage, Acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo acknowledged that it was "clearly wrong" to use duct tape to obstruct the man's mouth, highlighting a potential breach of human rights during the deportation process.