Nurses represent over half of health workers seeking counsel for human rights violation

The number of consultations regarding human rights violations involving healthcare workers exceeded 6,000 cases over the past five years. More than half of the applicants for these consultations were nurses.

According to data received by Rep. Seo Mi-hwa of the Democratic Party of Korea from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), 6,019 consultations regarding human rights violations for healthcare workers were conducted from August 2021 to July of this year.

The NHIS operates the Healthcare Worker Human Rights Violation Counseling Center to protect the human rights of healthcare workers.

Of the total 6,019 counseling cases, 3,616 were individual counseling sessions, 2,306 were group counseling sessions, and 97 involved consultations with legal and labor experts.

The number of consultations has increased annually. It rose from 79 cases in 2021 to 711 in 2022, 1,800 in 2023, and reached a record high of 2,205 in 2024. The trend continued through this year, with 1,224 cases already recorded as of July.

By reason for consultation, workplace harassment and abuse of power accounted for the highest percentage at 13.4 percent (808 cases), followed by verbal abuse/assault at 2.3 percent (138 cases), exclusion at 1.4 percent (87 cases), and sex-related issues at 0.8 percent (50 cases). Numerous cases of human rights violations in medical settings were reported, including repeated humiliating remarks in front of patients and their guardians, monitoring staff attendance via CCTV, and forcing employees to run personal errands.

By occupation, nurses accounted for over half of the cases at 57.9 percent (3,487 cases). This was followed by other hospital staff (administrative, janitorial, etc.) at 20.2 percent (1,213 cases), nursing assistants at 5.8 percent (352 cases), physical therapists at 3.4 percent (207 cases), dental hygienists at 3 percent (180 cases), clinical laboratory scientists at 2.4 percent (145 cases), radiographers at 1.5 percent (93 cases), and physicians at 1.4 percent (87 cases).

“Workplace harassment and abuse of power occurring in medical settings stem not from individual issues but from structural problems like excessive workloads and staff shortages,” Rep. Seo said. “Systemic improvements and practical countermeasures are urgently needed to ensure healthcare workers can operate in a respectful environment.”