Songpa-gu Conducts Disability Human Rights Survey with Lawyers and Former Police Officers

Reinforcement of Expert Personnel for Disability Human Rights Survey Team: Survey Conducted Annually Since 2012... Songpa-gu, the Only District in Seoul to Conduct It Every Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is appointing investigators with specialized expertise to conduct a human rights survey aimed at preventing abuse and human rights violations against people with disabilities.

The district has formed a Disabled Persons Human Rights Survey Team consisting of 14 members, including lawyers, professors, former police officers, psychologists, and nurses. To ensure the fairness of the survey, individuals affiliated with disability-related organizations and facilities were excluded from serving as investigators.

From February to September, the survey team will conduct the investigation in teams of three, together with members of the Disabled Parents Solidarity. The survey will involve one-on-one in-depth individual interviews using questionnaires with 855 people across 28 disability facilities in the region.

The survey will verify cases of human rights violations and check the protection of rights related to health, safety, religion, and privacy. It will also listen to the difficulties faced by workers at disability facilities to reflect improvements in working conditions.

Minor issues identified will be corrected immediately on-site. If suspected cases of human rights violations are found, a detailed investigation will be requested from the Seoul Disabled Persons Human Rights Center. Victims will be immediately separated from perpetrators for protection, and perpetrators will face strong punitive measures such as criminal charges and administrative sanctions on facilities, ensuring thorough protection of disabled persons' human rights.

Before the survey, on February 3, the district will hold an appointment ceremony and professional training for the survey team at the district office's Planning Situation Room. An instructor from the Seoul Disabled Persons Human Rights Center will provide guidance on human rights survey techniques, types of violation cases, preparatory matters, and the survey manual.

Songpa-gu Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “Based on professional personnel, we will conduct a thorough human rights survey to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy equal rights with non-disabled individuals and live as proud members of our society, and we will do our best to promote their rights.”

Songpa-gu was the first in the nation to launch a Disabled Persons Human Rights Survey Team in 2012 and enacted the “Seoul Special City Songpa-gu Ordinance on the Prohibition of Discrimination and Protection of Human Rights of Disabled Persons.” Based on this, it conducts an annual human rights survey of disability welfare facilities within the district. Among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, Songpa-gu is the only one to conduct this survey annually.