Casualties

In 2011, the Monitor identified two new antipersonnel mine casualties in Gyeonggi-do province, South Korea. In July, a man was injured while supervising drain excavation work in Yeoncheon-gun[1]; in November, another man was injured in Yangju County.[2] In 2010, four mine casualties were identified in the same province.[3]

The number of mine/explosive remnants of war casualties is unknown, but the Korea Research Institute for Mine Clearance stated in March 2009 that there were at least 500 civilian survivors.[4] In 2009, the media reported that there were at least 1,000 civilian casualties and the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines estimated there were 2,000 to 3,000 military casualties.[5] The Monitor identified 69 mine casualties between 1999 and 2011 (eight killed, 61 injured). At least 20 of these casualties were military personnel, including one American soldier injured in 2001. Figures are likely incomplete as there is no comprehensive official data on mine casualties in South Korea.[6]

Victim Assistance

There have been at least 112 survivors in South Korea though reasonable estimates indicate that the number is between 1,000 and 2,000, with both civilian and military survivors.[7]

Between March and August 2011, the Korean Peace Sharing Association (PSA) carried out a survey and needs assessment of mine victims in Gangwon province, one of two South Korean provinces bordering North Korea. PSA identified 228 civilian victims of mines from incidents dating from the 1950s to present, of which 116 were killed and 112 were injured; of these, 190 (83%) were men. The survey found that 46% of survivors lived below the poverty level and more than half had a primary school education or less. Many survivors had significant debt, often related to paying medical expenses related to their injuries. A prevalence of severe depression and alcohol dependence at a rate higher than the population average was also documented.[8]

Results of the survey were shared with provincial authorities and the media in October 2011.[9] The provincial government used the survey results to secure funding from the Samsung Corporation to assist at least 60 of the survivors in Gangwon province in obtaining follow-up surgery and other medical care.[10]

Victim Assistance Coordination

South Korea has no victim assistance coordination; the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (MIHWAF) is the lead ministry responsible for persons with disabilities.[11]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

While South Korea has a national health care system, mine victims are frequently not eligible for assistance due to the fact that their disability is considered conflict-related and/or self-inflicted.[12] Soldiers injured on duty, including those injured by mines, receive free medical services and a monthly pension that depends on the degree of disability—estimated, for example, to be about US$1,000 for a partial limb amputation.[13] Civilian mine survivors can apply for government compensation through the Ministry of National Defense Special Compensation Commission but few claims have been successful.[14]

The PSA needs assessment found that 88% of victims identified in Gangwon province (survivors and the family members of people killed by mines) did not seek compensation following the mine incident, most because they were not aware that a state compensation program existed. Others did not seek compensation either because they lacked money for legal assistance or because they feared reporting their incident to the government.[15]

In 2012, the Law for Removal of Mines and Reparation for Mine Victims was introduced for consideration by the Korean National Assembly for the fourth time since 2003.[16] If approved, it would provide financial compensation to mine victims for loss of income as a result of disability or loss of life (awarded to surviving family members) and would provide subsidies for medical care for survivors.[17]

In 2009, an act was adopted with the aim of preventing discrimination against persons with disabilities and providing remedies for those suffering from such discrimination.[18]

South Korea ratified the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 11 December 2008.