Seoul City to Host Human Rights Forum on the Safety of Housing-Vulnerable Groups in the COVID-19 Era on the 14th

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 14th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 13th that it will hold a human rights forum titled "How can the housing-vulnerable groups stay safe in the COVID-19 era?" hosted by the Seoul Human Rights Commission on Seoul's YouTube channel and the Live Seoul website.

This forum was organized to bring together various experts from civic groups, academia, social welfare organizations, and local governments to discuss and publicize human rights issues, aiming to discover and concretize policies for human rights-vulnerable groups in Seoul.

The forum will present the results of the "2020 Seoul Disaster Situation Survey on the Human Rights Conditions of the Homeless and Others" conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, focusing on changes in daily life before and after COVID-19 experienced by housing-vulnerable groups and Seoul's support measures for the homeless and others amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

Additionally, through the forum, policy measures for vulnerable human rights groups will be explored to prevent the recurrence of mass infections among the homeless, which occurred mainly around Seoul Station in January.

Hyun-sook Choi, a member of the Seoul Human Rights Commission, will chair the forum, with presenters and discussants including Jun-hee Kim, senior researcher at the Korea Urban Research Institute; Ki-chul Nam, professor at Dongduk Women's University; Jin-mi Kim, director of the Open Welfare Didim Center; a homeless representative; and the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Self-Support Division.

Sang-hee Han, chairperson of the Seoul Human Rights Commission, stated, "The suffering caused by disasters like COVID-19 tends to concentrate on those who are uniquely excluded and vulnerable through the process of urban life. We will seek ways to nurture and restore the lost normalcy in urban, welfare, and administrative systems such as quarantine."