Yongsan-gu Supports Disabled Public Officials in Performing Their Duties

Published 02 Mar.2020 06:31(KST)

Yongsan-gu and Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled Sign Agreement on February 28 to Support Disabled Public Officials... Labor Support Services and Assistive Devices Provided for Disabled Public Officials... Disabled Public Officials Account for 4.7% of Quota in the District, 1.3% Higher than Ministry of the Interior and Safety Guidelines

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) signed a 'Convenience Support Project Agreement for Disabled Public Officials' with the Seoul Southern Branch of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled (Branch Manager Kim Daehwan) on February 28.

They agreed to collaborate on supporting disabled public officials in performing their duties through services such as work assistance and provision of assistive technology devices.

The work assistance service involves specialized personnel from the agency staying on-site with disabled public officials and providing services according to the type of disability: ▲(physical disability or brain lesion) moving objects, organizing documents ▲(visual impairment) reading documents aloud, searching for work-related information ▲(hearing or speech impairment) sign language interpretation, answering work-related phone calls ▲(intellectual or autism spectrum disorder) communication and customer service.

This service is targeted at severely disabled public officials affiliated with the district office, and by paying a personal fee (300 KRW per hour), they can receive up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week of service.

The district also provides assistive technology devices such as braille information terminals (for visual impairment), one-handed keyboards (for physical disability), and sound amplification devices (for hearing impairment) upon application from disabled public officials.

The support limit per person is up to 10 million KRW (15 million KRW for severe disabilities).

A district official stated, “Until last year, the district directly purchased assistive technology devices and provided them to employees. From this year, the agency, as a specialized institution, will review the eligibility for support and provide the items, and the district will pay the corresponding budget to the agency.”

There are a total of 51 disabled public officials affiliated with the district (10 severely disabled, 41 mildly disabled). Forty work at the district office and 11 at community service centers.

Yongsan-gu Mayor Seongjang Hyun said, “The proportion of disabled public officials in the district is 4.7% of the total staff, which is 1.3% higher than the local government public official operation guideline (3.4%). We will support disabled public officials so that they can fully demonstrate their capabilities.”

Branch Manager Kim Daehwan said, “Through this agreement, we expect the work efficiency of disabled public officials in Yongsan-gu to improve, thereby enhancing the quality of public services. The agency will do its best to support disabled public officials in Yongsan-gu to perform their duties without inconvenience.”