Disability Act Korea

Disability Act Korea

DISABILITY ACT

Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities

• The Act on disability in Korea is known as Act on welfare of persons with disabilities
• This act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all aspects of life, and to effectively safeguard the rights and interests of individuals discriminated against on the ground of disability
• According to this act, no person may discriminate against anyone based on his/her disability, previous disability, or presumed disability

Definition Included in the Act

• The Law defines disability as, “persons with disabilities” encompasses those people with physical disabilities, visual disabilities, audio-lingual disabilities, mental retardation or other mental defects (hereinafter referred to as “persons with disabilities”) who have suffered substantially in his/her daily living or social life due to disabilities. Degrees of disability shall be specified by the Presidential Decree.
• A disability which is a basis of any discriminatory act prohibited under this Act means a physical or mental impairment or loss of function that substantially limits an individual's personal or social activities for an extended period of time.

PURPOSE OF THIS ACT:-

• The purpose of this Act is to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in all aspects of life
• This act effectively protects the rights and interests of individuals discriminated on the ground of disability,
• It enables them to fully participate in society and establish their right to equality which will ensure their sense of value in the society.
• The disabled persons shall have the right to make their own choices and decisions in all aspects of their lives subject to their determinations.
• The disabled persons shall have the right to be provided with services and information necessary to ensure the same rights of selection with persons without disabilities.

Rights covered and protected under the Act :-

1. Employment:-

• No employer may engage in any discriminatory practice against any disabled person in terms of recruitment and hiring, wage and benefit plans, job training, placement, promotion or transfer, nor retirement, resignation or layoff.
• No labor union of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act may reject the admission of any worker with a disability into a union, or treat his/her differently in regard to his/her rights and activities as a member.

2. Education:-

• No education officer may refuse an application for enrollment or enrollment of any disabled person or compel him/her to transfer to another school, while no nursery schools under the Infant Care Act and various levels of schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act shall refuse transfers of the disabled persons to such educational institutions.
• Each education officer shall actively develop and enforce the measures in order to offer appropriate teaching and evaluation methods through learning diagnosis in applying school curriculum and address other matters prescribed by Presidential Decree as necessary to prevent disadvantages to educational activities of the disabled.

3. Provision and Use of Goods and Services :-

• No provider of goods, services, etc. may provide the disabled persons with goods, services, benefits, convenience, etc. which would bring benefits unequal to those to be provided to persons without disabilities in substance on the ground of such disabilities.
• No provider of goods, services, etc. may deprive the disabled persons of an opportunity to benefit from using such goods, services, etc.

4. Judicial and Administrative Procedures, Services and Political Rights :-

• No public institution, etc. shall discriminate against disabled persons in relation to the provision of judicial and administrative procedures and services necessary to protect and guarantee their rights, including the right to life, body or property.
• Each public institution or its employee shall provide judicial and administrative procedures and services to the extent that the disabled can use them on a substantially equal basis with persons without disabilities, and shall provide legitimate convenience for that purpose.

5. Motherhood, Fatherhood, Sexuality, etc :-

• No person shall restrict, segregate, exclude or reject the disabled persons in relation to their motherhood or fatherhood, including pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, based on disability.
• If a disabled person wishes to adopt a child, no adoption agency shall restrict adoption qualifications based on his/her disability.

6. Family, Home, Welfare Facilities, Right to Health :-

• No member of family, home, welfare facilities, etc. shall impose excessive burden on any disabled person against his/her will nor exclude any disabled person from decision-making processes based on disability without justifiable grounds.
• No medical facility, etc. nor medical person, etc. shall restrict, segregate, exclude or reject the disabled persons when they engage in medical practices.

ACT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES :-

• As per this act, people with autism are eligible for special education
• As per this act the State and local governments should provide disabled persons and those who have special educational needs with an integrated educational environment.
• As per this act disabled people should be provided education provides according to their life cycle considering characteristics, such as the type and level of disability so that such education may contribute to their self-realization and integration into the society.
• As per this act" special education-related services" means services to provide human and material resources necessary for efficiently providing education for persons eligible for special education, including counseling support, family support, therapeutic support, support of assistants, support of assistive technology devices support of learning aids, school attendance support, information access support.

References:-

1. https://www.humanrights.go.kr/site/homepage/menu/viewMenu?menuid=002003001005

2. https://dredf.org/legal-advocacy/international-disability-rights/international-laws/south-korea-welfare-law-for-persons-with-disabilities/

Handbook link:-

https://www.humanrights.go.kr/site/homepage/menu/viewMenu?menuid=002003001005