Jang Hye-young Shaves Head... Urges National Assembly 'No Interest' in Developmental Disability Laws, "This Is What We Really Need to Do Now"

Participation in Disability Group's Head-Shaving Ceremony
Lawmakers Show No Interest in 24-Hour Support System for People with Developmental Disabilities"
"Creating a Support System to Live 24 Hours with People with Developmental Disabilities Is an Important Mission for the National Assembly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 19th, Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young participated in a head-shaving ceremony held by disability organizations, emphasizing "what we really need to do right now" in response to the National Assembly being absorbed only in prosecutorial reform, the new government's inaugural cabinet confirmation hearings, and the June local elections. Jang, who has a family member with developmental disabilities, expressed an apology to people with developmental disabilities and their families, and held the head-shaving ceremony as a protest against lawmakers who show no interest in the relevant bills, urging the passage of the Disability Rights Guarantee Act and other bills during the April extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the same day, Jang attended the '1 Night 2 Days Resolution Rally to Urge the Establishment of a 24-Hour Support System for People with Developmental Disabilities,' hosted by the National Parents' Association of Persons with Disabilities near the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where she shaved her head together with other parents of people with disabilities.

Jang said, "Creating a (disability) support system that allows people with developmental disabilities to live together 24 hours a day is the most important mission I had when I entered the National Assembly," adding, "Two years have passed, but I am very sorry that politics has not been done properly to the extent that you have to come back to this place again."

She then urged her fellow lawmakers to ensure that disability support bills, including the Disability Rights Guarantee Act and the Deinstitutionalization Support Act, which are pending in the Health and Welfare Committee, are passed during the April extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

She pointed out, "Very important bills related to (disability support legislation) are being reviewed, but many fellow lawmakers are not paying enough attention to this issue." She added, "I am shaving my head with the hope of reminding my fellow lawmakers of what we really need to do right now as they see the heads shaved together with you."

She said, "I will do everything possible in the National Assembly to ensure that people with developmental disabilities can live freely and equally in the local community, not just as someone's family member but as citizens of the Republic of Korea."

Jang, a disability rights activist, has a younger sibling with severe developmental disabilities and has proposed the Disability Rights Guarantee Act and the Deinstitutionalization Support Act.

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