형제복지원사건은 사회복지법인인 부산의 형제복지원이라는 곳에서 발생한 중대한 인권침해사건이다. 유신정권은 1975년 내무부훈령 제410호를 발표하면서 부랑인에 대한 대대적인 수용정책을 실시했다. 유신체제의 유지를 위한 정책이었다. 그것은 어떤 법률에도 근거하지 않은 것으로 그 자체가 불법한 것이었다. 그 훈령에 따라 사회복지의 명목을 내건 대규모의 수용시설들이 만들어졌고 예산이 지원되었다. 공권력과 신고체제를 총동원해 부랑인, 불순분자로 지목된 시민들을 수용했다. 이러한 수용정책은 80년대 전두환 정권에까지 이어졌다. 형제복지원과 같은 사회복지시설에 대한 국가의 관리나 감독은 행해지지 않았고, 오히려 인권침해를 용이하게 하고 비호하며 은폐하였다. 국가기관과 형제복지원은 검은 비리로 유착되어 있었다. 국가의 반민주적이고 반인권적인 정책과 돈벌이에 몰두한 민간 법인이 서로 결합하여 형제복지원사건이라는 현대판 한국의 홀로코스트를 만들어 낸 것이다.
형제복지원사건은 과거의 문제만이 아닌 현재의 문제이며, 또한 미래의 문제이다. 끔찍하고 잔혹했던 인권침해사건에서 부정의하고 반인권적인 행위들에 대한 진실과 진상을 밝혀내야 하고, 이를 통해 다시는 그와 같은 사건이 재발되지 않도록 정의와 인권을 바로 세워야 하기 때문이다. 궁극적으로는 시민이 정치적으로 정의와 인권을 실현하는 권력을 만들어 내야 한다. 그러한 권력구축을 통해 정의와 인권에 부합하는 법정책과 제도를 생산해야 한다. 그럼으로써 공공의 영역에서 사유화된 권력들에 의해 자행되는 인권침해를 방지하고 진정한 복지국가로 갈 수 있는 길을 열 수가 있는 것이다.Hyoungje Welfare Institution case is a serious human rights violation case which occurred in a place called Hyoungje Welfare Institution, a social welfare corporation, located at Busan in 1987. This institution as the largest domestic residential institution accommodating app. 3,500 vagrants(people), hauled vagrants and innocent citizens from the stations or streets and held them in custody illegally. Those persons were accommodated by being classified into children’s unit, adult male/female unit like a military organization and harassed by forced labor. Accommodated persons had to endure inhumane life under watchful eye and violence. They also had to suffer from daily hunger and were sometimes reduced to the disabled or faced with death by violence and sexual abuse. As much as 513 persons were recorded to be dead during the period from 1975 to 1987. Dead bodies were either secretly buried or sold as cadaver of medical universities.
Yushin regime enforced large-scale accommodation policy for the vagrants by announcing Ministry of Interior directive No. 410 in 1975 as a policy of maintaining Yushin system. This directive itself was illegal as it lacked legal ground. According to this directive, large-scale camps were constructed in the name of social welfare and their budget was supported. By totally mobilizing public power and report system, citizens being singled out as vagrants, impure elements were hauled and accommodated. This accommodation policy succeeded to Cheon, Du Hwan regime in 1980s. National management or supervision over social welfare institutions like Hyoungje Welfare Institution was not performed and rather, human rights violation was encouraged, protected and concealed implicitly. National institution and Hyoungje Welfare Institution maintained corrupt relationships. As national anti-democratic, anti-human rights policy(national policies against democracy and human rights) are combined with private corporation being absorbed in profiteering, a Korean style holocaust of modern version called Hyoungje Welfare Institution case was created.
Hyoungje Welfare Institution case is not only a social issue of the past but also a current issue and it is an issue of the future as well. For truth and reality about unjustifiable acts from horrible and brutal human rights violation case are required to be clarified, and thereby justice and human rights should be set right lest that a case like this should occur again. Ultimately, citizens are required to set up a power that realizes justice and human rights politically. Through such power build-up, legal policy and system complying with justice and human rights shall be institutionalized. By doing so, human rights violation by privatized powers in public sector could be prevented and a road leading to real welfare state could be opened.