Seoul City Pre-Inspects Accessibility Facilities for Disabled at Voting Stations for April 15 General Election

On the afternoon of the 8th, one week before the April 15 general election, residents of the disabled living facility "Bada-ui Byeol" located in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, are casting absentee votes at their residence. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that it is conducting a comprehensive survey and inspection of accessibility facilities for the disabled at all 2,252 polling stations across Seoul to ensure that people with disabilities can vote without inconvenience in the upcoming '21st National Assembly Election' scheduled for the 15th.

A total of 184 monitoring personnel, composed of people with disabilities who usually inspect accessibility facilities in Seoul, are visiting polling stations in pairs to conduct inspections. If any inconveniences are found, they will request improvements from the Election Commission.

The survey covers the location and accessibility of polling stations, adequacy of the main entrance width, installation of parking spaces exclusively for the disabled, availability of accessible restrooms, installation of tactile paving at main entrances, and whether wheelchair users can vote.

Seoul city installs temporary polling stations next to the main entrance on the first floor if the polling station is located on the second or third floor of a building without an elevator. If the entrance ramp is steep or there is a significant height difference in stairs, temporary ramps are installed. On election day, guides to assist disabled voters will also be deployed.

Monitoring personnel conducting the on-site survey are required to strictly observe personal hygiene measures in accordance with COVID-19 prevention protocols while carrying out inspections. Any issues requiring corrective action identified at each polling station will be reported to the Election Commission to ensure problems are resolved in advance, thereby preventing any inconvenience for disabled voters on election day.

Jung Jin-woo, Director of Welfare Planning at Seoul City, said, "Because the monitoring personnel are composed of people with disabilities, they can inspect accessibility facilities from the perspective of disabled voters." He added, "We will block any inconveniences in advance to promote active participation of disabled people in elections and ensure they can exercise their voting rights without difficulty."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.