Gyeonggi-do Conducts 'Official Investigation' on 6 Institutions Failing to Comply with Mandatory Employment of Persons with Disabilities

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Center has begun a 'mandatory investigation' from the 15th into six public institutions under Gyeonggi-do that failed to comply with the mandatory employment of persons with disabilities.

The Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Center is an institution that handles human rights counseling, investigations, and remedies for human rights violations and discriminatory acts occurring in the province, affiliated administrative agencies, public institutions, delegated agencies of the province, and social welfare facilities supported by the province.

The current 'Act on the Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities and Vocational Rehabilitation' mandates that public institutions or local government-funded or supported institutions employing 50 or more workers must employ persons with disabilities at a rate of 3.4% of the total workforce.

This mandatory investigation follows a report from the Citizen Human Rights Monitoring Group. The monitoring group claimed in a report submitted last May that six out of 21 public institutions in the province fell short of the mandatory employment quota for persons with disabilities.

The Citizen Human Rights Monitoring Group operates under the 'Gyeonggi-do Ordinance on the Guarantee and Promotion of Human Rights.' It consists of 30 citizens who are experts in nine fields including general human rights, disabilities, and the elderly, or who have a strong interest in human rights.

The 'Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Ordinance,' revised in July, allows the province to conduct investigations ex officio if it deems there are serious human rights violations or related issues.

In this mandatory investigation, the Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Center plans to assess not only the six public institutions but also other public institutions that are not subject to the mandatory employment of persons with disabilities regarding their employment status of persons with disabilities.

Based on the final investigation results, the Human Rights Center plans to examine whether there are any legal violations, identify the fundamental reasons for non-compliance with the mandatory employment rate of persons with disabilities, and prepare countermeasures.

A representative of the Human Rights Center said, "Ensuring appropriate employment opportunities tailored to the characteristics of persons with disabilities is a social responsibility of public institutions," adding, "We expect this mandatory investigation to contribute to the effective employment of persons with disabilities in public institutions under the province."

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