[2022 National Audit] Rep. Kim Yeji Calls for Improvement in Accessibility-Enhanced E-Book Support Project for Disabled...Lack of Promotion and User Inconvenience

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Issues have been raised regarding the lack of practical accessibility for disabled individuals in the e-book production support project aimed at enhancing accessibility for the disabled, conducted by the Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to the office of Kim Yeji, a member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the People Power Party, a recent survey they conducted found that 88.5% of fifty-two visually impaired respondents could not immediately read the books they wanted due to the absence of alternative materials. The content produced last year under the Korea Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency’s project included sixteen e-books and two apps, totaling eighteen items. Compared to the 64,567 new publications released in 2021, this accounts for only 0.003%.

Rep. Kim also pointed out the lack of promotion. She explained that it is difficult to identify which e-books are accessibility-enhanced for the disabled because this is not clearly stated or because each publisher uses different expressions.

According to the survey, only five out of fifty-two participants (9.8%) were aware of the project, and only one person reported accessing books through an institution.

The low accessibility of e-book players was also identified as a problem. Regarding criticisms that usage remains difficult despite two rounds of improvements, Rep. Kim stated, “The Korea Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency should not merely provide conventional support but should consider the fundamental purpose of the project to ensure practical effects for readers with disabilities by securing budgets, promoting the produced accessibility-enhanced e-books for the disabled, conducting thorough evaluations, and establishing distribution management plans. They must also assess the appropriateness of past evaluation processes and identify current issues to devise countermeasures.”

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