Lee Jae-myung, on Korean Sign Language Day, pledges to "Improve Professional Sign Language Interpretation System"

61st Small but Certain Happiness Pledge... "Extending a Warm Hand to Support the Hardships of the Deaf"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 3rd, which is 'Korean Sign Language Day,' Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced his 61st 'small but certain happiness (So-hwak-haeng)' pledge on social media (SNS), titled 'Improvement of the Professional Sign Language Interpretation System.'

Candidate Lee stated, "Article 2 of the Korean Sign Language Act specifies that 'no one shall be discriminated against for using sign language, and everyone has the right to receive necessary information through sign language in all areas of life,' but the reality is different," explaining the reason for announcing this pledge.

In fact, sign language is a unique language of the hearing-impaired with equal status to the national language as stipulated by law, but the Democratic Party explained that the placement of sign language interpreters in public institutions such as medical facilities and police stations is insufficient, so opportunities to communicate through interpreters in daily life are limited.

As of December 2020, there are approximately 400,000 hearing-impaired people in South Korea, but there is no government-level institution or management system for training professional sign language interpreters. Although local government sign language interpretation support centers autonomously conduct training, only one center in Seoul currently operates the training program.

Candidate Lee also presented detailed pledges to solve the problem. He pledged to establish specialized sign language interpretation training courses in fields such as medical and legal services and to expand the placement of sign language interpretation centers so that hearing-impaired individuals can communicate smoothly in medical emergencies like diseases or COVID-19 and in legal disputes.

Additionally, he added that professional sign language interpreters would be assigned to medical and public institutions to ensure that hearing-impaired people can use these institutions comfortably and convey their intentions without inconvenience.

Candidate Lee emphasized his determination to improve related systems, saying, "We will extend a warm hand to the hearing-impaired who had no choice but to endure pain or injustice."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, holds a press conference at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 26th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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