Law "Countries Exempt from Mandatory Accessibility Facilities for Disabled... Discretion, Not Discrimination"

Seoul Central District Court. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court has once again ruled that the state's exemption of small convenience stores and restaurants from the obligation to install accessibility facilities such as access routes for people with disabilities does not constitute discrimination against the disabled.

On the morning of the 6th, the Civil Division 5 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Seol Beomsik, Lee Junyoung, Choi Seongbo) ruled against the plaintiffs in the appeal trial of the discrimination relief lawsuit filed by disability organizations against the state, the same as in the first trial.

The appellate court stated, "The state appears to have considerable discretion to set the scope step-by-step when determining the obligation to install accessibility facilities for people with disabilities," and "It is difficult to uniformly judge what is desirable in determining the target facilities for installing accessibility facilities."

It added, "The state needs to flexibly determine the scope of target facilities by considering the accessibility range for people with disabilities and the socioeconomic burden of installing accessibility facilities."

Earlier, disability organizations filed a discrimination relief and damages lawsuit in April 2018 against convenience store operators and the state, demanding "guaranteeing access rights for people with disabilities."

Article 18, Paragraph 4 of the Act on Prohibition of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons stipulates that the scope of facilities obligated to provide reasonable accommodations such as accessibility facilities (target facilities) shall be determined by enforcement ordinance. However, the enforcement ordinance requires a floor area of 300㎡ or more for supermarkets, retail stores, general restaurants, rest restaurants, bakeries, etc., excluding most private public-use facilities from the target facilities.

In February, the first trial ruled that convenience store operators must equip access routes or portable ramps accessible to people with disabilities, or install an external staff call bell in convenience stores newly built, expanded, or remodeled after April 11, 2009.

However, it did not recognize the state's responsibility. The first trial court explained, "The expansion of target facilities should be promoted considering social and economic conditions, society's sensitivity to disabilities, and the state's financial situation," and "It cannot be seen that individual public officials have the obligation to amend the enforcement ordinance of the Act on Convenience for Persons with Disabilities with specific content."

When the appellate court also ruled not to recognize the state's responsibility, the Disability Discrimination Prohibition Promotion Coalition and others held a press conference in front of the court, stating, "Everyone as a citizen should be able to access any place they want, but creating inaccessible zones only for people with disabilities is an act of discrimination," and emphasized, "We will continue the fight until the state stops discriminatory acts against people with disabilities and guarantees the right for everyone to go wherever they want."