'Every day was hell': Woman in her 50s forcibly committed to psychiatric facility by elderly mother

A woman in her 50s has come forward with an account of enduring her mother's physical abuse throughout childhood — and being forcibly committed to a psychiatric facility as an adult.

The story of the woman, identified only as A, was featured Wednesday on JTBC's "Sageunbanjang," a program covering real-life incidents. The middle child among three siblings — an older sister and a younger brother — A said the wounds from her childhood remain deep. "So much time has passed, but the scars from when I was young are still enormous, both mentally and physically," she said.

According to A, her mother typically assaulted her daughters when their father was not home, though she also struck them in his presence and would turn on him if he tried to intervene. The mother frequently beat the girls' thighs with a laundry bat and sent them to school in long pants to hide the bruises. "I remember applying medicine to my older sister's thighs every night," A said. In high school, she said she was beaten so severely that her school uniform was torn, and she attended classes in a long-sleeved gym uniform for a period.

A recalled the abuse beginning as early as kindergarten or first grade. "I was hit so much I couldn't lie flat, and my whole body was covered in bruises," she said. "She beat me even when I apologized, and she beat me again if I talked back or resisted."

A also said she was called by profanities more often than by her own name. When their mother was in a bad mood, she said, the three siblings would linger outside for hours and only come home after she had drunk herself to sleep.

Ultimately, the older sister left home through marriage, and A said she married as well — "as if fleeing." Their younger brother enlisted early to escape the household and became a career soldier. After marriage, A built a happy life with her husband and children. "I raised my kids vowing I would never live like my mother," she said.

Then, in a single accident during a family trip, she lost both her husband and her children. As A struggled with grief and turned to alcohol, her mother offered no comfort — telling her, "That's why I told you not to get married."

Shortly afterward, her mother arrived with two unfamiliar men and had A forcibly committed to a psychiatric facility. "Two men suddenly grabbed both my arms, and a vehicle from a psychiatric hospital was parked in front," A said. "I was involuntarily hospitalized for 15 days. Every single day was hell."

Involuntary commitment under South Korean law requires the consent of at least two legal guardians. A's mother reportedly obtained her brother's agreement by lying to him, telling him his sister "was not in her right mind and needed treatment."

More than 20 years later, A said she continues to receive treatment for depression, panic disorder and alcohol dependency, and that she cannot manage daily life without psychiatric medication.

Attorney Son Su-ho, who appeared on the program, said that even if A's account is true and supported by evidence, the passage of time poses a serious legal obstacle. "Both criminal and civil statutes of limitations apply, and with 20 years having passed, it is very difficult to pursue legal action," he said.

지하철 ‘임산부 배려석’ 자리 양보 요청하자…“권리 아니다” 끝까지 버틴 남성

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