Court: "Even with good language and reasoning, low IQ means intellectual disability"

Seoul Administrative Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court ruled that even if a person has a high intelligence quotient in a specific area, they should be considered intellectually disabled if their overall intelligence quotient is low.

According to the legal community on the 9th, Judge Im Seongmin of the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 6, recently ruled in favor of Plaintiff A in the first trial of the cancellation lawsuit against the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office in Seoul regarding the 'decision of non-applicability of disability degree.'

Previously, A underwent intelligence tests at a hospital in 2010 and 2020, both times receiving scores below 70.

A applied for disability registration with Yeongdeungpo-gu, claiming the scores met the criteria for intellectual disability under the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act.

However, the district office rejected the application, citing that in a separate disability degree assessment conducted by the National Pension Service, A's language comprehension and perceptual reasoning scores were high. They also pointed out that A's elementary, middle, and high school records included awards and did not indicate any signs of intellectual disability.

A filed an administrative lawsuit, and the first trial ruled in his favor.

Judge Im stated, "The main consideration in determining intellectual disability under the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act is the intelligence quotient," adding, "The intelligence test assesses language comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, processing speed, and other factors comprehensively."

He further said, "Just because some test results are better than the overall intelligence quotient does not mean the examinee cannot be considered intellectually disabled."

Judge Im added, "School records are not included in the criteria for intellectual disability determination set by the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities Act and are generally written from a positive perspective."

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