In a case that has South Korea collectively clutching its pearls, a court has sentenced the former head of a disabled care home to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple residents. The man, identified only as Kim, ran the Saekdongwon facility in Incheon City, west of Seoul, where he abused three residents, including a woman with a severe intellectual disability who bravely came forward in February last year.

The fallout has been swift and thorough. The government, in a fit of post-scandal diligence, inspected 1,507 care facilities for disabled people nationwide and found 33 suspected cases of abuse. That's 33 too many, but at least they're counting now.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok called the abuse 'a grave matter that calls into question the very reason for the state's existence.' A bit dramatic, but fair. Meanwhile, Ganghwa County's in-depth assessment of residents revealed that 20 current and former female residents may have experienced sexual abuse - a number that suggests Kim wasn't exactly subtle.

South Koreans are asking the obvious question: how did this happen after laws were strengthened in 2011 to protect disabled people from sexual assault? And how did the director's behavior go undetected for so long? Great questions, no easy answers.

In response, Ganghwa County has ordered Saekdongwon to close, and Incheon City revoked the license of the foundation that ran it. But hold your horses - the closure has been deferred until remaining residents are relocated and independent living arrangements are sorted. The foundation, in a move that surprises no one, has filed an administrative lawsuit challenging the license revocation.

This saga joins South Korea's growing list of sex-crime headlines, from the country's most prolific online sex criminal getting life in prison to the deepfake porn 'emergency' and the scandal hitting elite skaters. At this rate, the state might want to reconsider what it's actually for.