Supreme Court Signs Agreement with the Federation of the Blind to Provide Braille Judgments

On the afternoon of the 5th, at Mugunghwa Hall on the 16th floor of the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, a 'Business Agreement Ceremony for Providing Braille Judgments to the Visually Impaired' was held. Cho Jae-yeon, Director of the Court Administration Office (sixth from the right), Park Jong-woon, Acting President of the Korea Blind Union, and related officials are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by the Supreme Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Supreme Court has signed a business agreement to provide accurate and prompt litigation information to visually impaired individuals.

On the 5th, the Supreme Court Administrative Office signed a "Business Agreement for Providing Braille Judgments and Other Materials to the Visually Impaired" with the Korea Federation of the Visually Impaired.

The signing ceremony was held at 2 p.m. in the Mugunghwa Hall on the 16th floor of the Supreme Court building in Seocho-dong, Seoul, attended by Cho Jae-yeon, head of the Court Administration Office, and Park Jong-woon, acting president of the Korea Federation of the Visually Impaired.

In his congratulatory remarks, Director Cho said, "I consider it very meaningful that through this business agreement, courts nationwide will be able to provide judgments and other documents in the specific formats desired by visually impaired individuals," adding, "Going forward, the Court Administration Office will strive to ensure that judicial support for various types of disabilities, including hearing impairments, physical disabilities, and mental disabilities, is carried out smoothly and appropriately."

Acting President Park expressed gratitude in his response, saying, "We appreciate the court taking the lead in protecting the rights and interests of the visually impaired," and added, "Previously, visually impaired individuals had difficulty actively participating as true subjects in judicial procedures because they could not read litigation documents themselves and had to rely on assistance from others. However, with this agreement, I believe visually impaired individuals can now participate actively and independently in judicial procedures just like non-disabled persons."

According to the business agreement signed that day, when a court receiving a request for braille judgments or other materials from a visually impaired person asks the Korea Federation of the Visually Impaired, the federation will convert and provide the judgments and litigation documents into braille print materials, electronic braille files, or audio-output-capable files, and the Court Administration Office will pay a certain fee.

The Supreme Court plans to convert and provide judgments and other documents in the form preferred by each visually impaired individual among the following: braille print materials printed with tactile braille on paper; electronically generated braille files usable on braille information terminals; and DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) format files that convert the document content into audio output.

A Supreme Court official stated, "This business agreement was concluded following advisory opinions decided at the 5th Judicial Administration Advisory Meeting held last April," and added, "By enhancing judicial accessibility for the visually impaired, we expect to more firmly guarantee the constitutional fundamental right to access the courts."

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