The Supreme Court has ruled that prohibiting intellectually disabled individuals under limited guardianship from transferring or withdrawing more than 1 million won in total over 30 days without the consent of their limited guardian constitutes a violation of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yu-sook) announced on the 16th that it upheld the lower court's partial ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the appeal case filed by 18 intellectually disabled individuals, including Mr. Go, against the Republic of Korea, seeking to stop discriminatory acts against persons with disabilities.
Mr. Go and others were placed under limited guardianship by a court ruling in January 2018. At that time, the court required that when intellectually disabled individuals conduct financial transactions, if the total amount over 30 days exceeded 1 million won, the consent of the limited guardian was required, and if it exceeded 3 million won, court approval was necessary. Limited guardianship is a system where a guardian is appointed to perform legal acts and other guardianship duties for persons lacking the capacity to manage affairs due to illness, disability, or old age.
However, the Korea Post restricted intellectually disabled individuals such that for transactions under 1 million won, they could only conduct transactions at bank counters with their passbook and seal. For transactions between 1 million and 3 million won, even if they presented the limited guardian's consent form, they could not transact alone and had to be accompanied by the limited guardian at the bank counter.
In response, Mr. Go and others filed a lawsuit claiming that these measures by the Korea Post constituted discriminatory acts under the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities.
Both the first and second trials found that the Korea Post was engaging in discriminatory acts against persons with disabilities. The courts ordered the cessation of the practice of requiring accompaniment by the limited guardian and prohibiting the use of the 'consent form' method for transactions exceeding 1 million won over 30 days. The first trial also ordered the Korea Post to pay 500,000 won in damages per plaintiff. However, the second trial reduced the compensation to 200,000 won per person, considering that the Korea Post had revised its internal guidelines since 2020.
The Supreme Court agreed with the second trial's judgment. It stated that the adult guardianship system under civil law is based on Article 10 of the Constitution, moving away from the traditional concept of protecting legally incapacitated persons, respecting the individual's will and remaining capacity, and limiting guardianship only to the necessary extent so that they can participate as normal members of society to the greatest extent possible.
The court stated, "The basic principle of the adult guardianship system is that the state or a third party should intervene only when the individual cannot resolve matters by their own will, allowing them to live together as members of society without exclusion or isolation. Whether any measures or restrictions are necessary to protect the limited ward should be determined through judicial review by the family court handling the guardianship case. There is no justification for the Korea Post or others, who do not accurately know the condition of the limited ward, to impose arbitrary restrictions," the court ruled.
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