Justice Party Gwangju Branch "Disability Policy Stagnant... Guarantee Basic Rights"

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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Justice Party Gwangju Metropolitan City Branch urged ahead of the 42nd Disabled Persons Day, "There must be a shift in social awareness and guarantee of basic rights to ensure a dignified life in the local community."

On this day, the city branch issued a statement saying, "Demands such as mobility rights, enactment of the Act on Support for Independent Living of Facility-Leavers, reform of the activity support service system, and the national responsibility system to guarantee the rights of people with developmental disabilities have been raised for decades, but policies have not changed, and rights as disabled citizens have inevitably been deprived."

They added, "Now, while the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ratified in 2008 is supposed to be upheld, South Korea's disability welfare budget stands at only 0.6%, which is one-third of the OECD average of 2.02%."

This "leads to poverty and discrimination against people with disabilities," and they urged, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should adopt and announce compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and securing a disability budget at the OECD average level during his term as a key national agenda."

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