Lee Jae-myung Visits 'Seojin School': "Integrated Education for Disabled and Non-disabled is Desirable"

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung visited the youth housing complex "Jangan Saenghwal" in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 6th and held a meeting with the resident youths. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his position on the issue of education for people with disabilities, stating, "Special schools are desirable, but ultimately, it is most desirable to live together daily in an integrated education space with non-disabled people."

On the 7th, Lee held a meeting with parents at Seojin School in Gangseo, Seoul, and said, "Whether disabled or non-disabled, they are all our neighbors and our families who deserve love."

Regarding integrated education, Lee explained, "From the perspective of non-disabled people, it is a good opportunity to realize that people with disabilities are not a separate or unusual existence but human beings like us, fellow citizens who must live together. Yet, the first reason it does not work is due to misunderstandings and prejudices."

He continued, "Secondly, although the financial authorities understand integrated education, ultimately, due to cost issues, they cannot sufficiently accommodate the students, and conflicts occur at schools, so they keep trying to exclude (students with disabilities). In fact, that should not be the case," he emphasized.

Lee added, "From the perspective of administrators, if you look closely, creating separate spaces and providing separate education itself incurs costs, and considering the subsequent social adaptation process, additional costs arise. From the standpoint of national policy and finances, integrated education may actually cost less," he said.

Seojin School is a public school for students with disabilities that opened last year. During its establishment, residents opposed it, and parents made so-called 'knee appeals,' drawing social attention.

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