Seoul Central District Court to Establish Specialized Disability Tribunal Next Month... First Nationwide

The Seoul Central District Court will establish a specialized division dedicated to cases involving persons with disabilities next month. It is expected to lower the barriers for persons with disabilities to access the court by providing braille documents and sign language interpretation for those participating in trials. The Seoul Central District Court is the first among courts nationwide to set up a specialized division for persons with disabilities.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

According to the legal community on the 11th, the Seoul Central District Court will establish the "Specialized Division for Persons with Disabilities" ahead of the regular judicial personnel reshuffle next month. This division will primarily handle criminal cases where the defendants or others involved are persons with disabilities, and will operate with expertise by providing braille documents, sign language interpretation, and other accommodations according to the type of disability. A representative from the Seoul Central District Court stated, "It is scheduled to be piloted next month, and during the pilot operation period, we plan to investigate specific demands."

In this month's regular personnel reshuffle, the Seoul Central District Court also created the position of "Judicial Support Officer for Persons with Disabilities," the first of its kind in courts nationwide, and assigned two staff members to the role. They are stationed at the comprehensive civil affairs office and the criminal reception office, where there is high demand for civil services, to assist persons with disabilities in participating in judicial procedures. Specifically, they provide various forms of assistance such as hearing aids, voice amplifiers, magnifiers, and wheelchairs, and are also responsible for conducting related job training for internal staff.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of registered persons with disabilities was approximately 2.65 million as of 2022, accounting for about 5.2% of the domestic population. The Seoul Central District Court decided to pilot the specialized division as the number of persons with disabilities seeking trials or visiting courts has been steadily increasing each year.

A court official said, "This has the significance of realizing the constitutional value of 'equality before the law' by enabling persons with disabilities to participate equally in judicial procedures," and added, "We will continue to prepare various institutional support measures for persons with disabilities and promote improvements in work facilities and infrastructure to enhance judicial accessibility for persons with disabilities."

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