Gyeongnam residents with family members who have developmental disabilities threw themselves onto the asphalt again this year, following last year.
The Gyeongnam branch of the National Association of Parents with Disabled Children held a nationwide tour five-point prostration resolution rally on the road in front of the Gyeongnam Office of Education on the 30th, calling for the establishment of a policy support system to protect the lives of families with developmental disabilities.
They said, "Last year, we performed five-point prostrations right here to break the horrific chain of hearing about the deaths of families with developmental disabilities twice a month during the COVID-19 period, but the tragedies have not stopped."
Yoon Jongsul, chairman of the National Parents Association for the Disabled, is speaking at the nationwide touring five-body prostration resolution rally urging measures for the developmentally disabled disaster. Photo by Lee Seryeong
They explained, "The reason we call it a tragedy for families with developmental disabilities is because lives have been lost in a reality where policies and support systems to protect the lives of people with developmental disabilities are extremely lacking," adding, "This cannot be dismissed as a private matter, and we know that there was a disaster-like life that led them to such desperate choices."
They asserted, "What we are asking for is simply to let us live, to stop these deaths," and insisted, "In order to prevent tragedies in families with developmental disabilities, social support systems and safety nets must be established."
They also demanded: ▲ A full administrative survey to identify and support people with developmental disabilities ▲ The establishment of a fact-finding committee for social tragedies involving people with developmental disabilities ▲ The introduction of residential life services for people with developmental disabilities ▲ The enactment of a law to prevent deaths in families with developmental disabilities.
The Gyeongnam Branch of the National Parents Association for the Disabled is urging measures to prevent disasters involving people with developmental disabilities. Photo by Lee Seryeong
According to the Gyeongnam branch, over the past three years, there have been a total of 24 deaths involving people with developmental disabilities and their families: 10 cases in 2022, 11 cases in 2023, and 3 cases in 2024, with 3 of these occurring in Gyeongnam.
In May 2022, a mother with a child with developmental disabilities took her own life in Miryang, and in May the following year in Changwon, a mother with two children with developmental disabilities made an extreme choice.
In January this year, in Gimhae, a mother diagnosed with leukemia caused the death of her son with developmental disabilities, whom she had cared for over 20 years.
Yoon Jongsul, chairman of the Gyeongnam branch of the National Parents Association of Disabled Persons, urges the establishment of a support system for life protection policies for families with developmental disabilities. Photo by Lee Seryeong
Yoon Jong-sul, the branch president, said, "We have called for change through shaving our heads, fasting, and five-point prostrations, hoping for no more tragedies, but the government and National Assembly remain unresponsive," adding, "We must continue to demand action until the 22nd National Assembly, which starts today, presents countermeasures."
He said, "Let us fight to the end so that people with developmental disabilities can live as members of the local community even in a world without us."
The branch appealed, "We live every single day with a different weight, in special times," adding, "We hope for a society where we do not hear people say, 'How hard must it be because of your child,' a society where disability can be a personality trait, a society where people can live ordinary lives in the community without going to institutions, and a society where, even after we die, our children can safely and freely do what they want in the community."
After the resolution rally, participants chanted "Developmental, disability, tragedy, stop" and "Developmental, disability, life, protection" as they marched in a five-point prostration procession.
The march covered about 1 km, passing in front of the main gate of the Gyeongnam Office of Education, crossing the street, and continuing to Yongji Cultural Park, with police from the Gyeongnam Police Agency and Changwon Jungbu Police Station managing traffic control and safety.
The five-point prostration march, which began on the 28th of this month in front of Jeju Provincial Government, will continue nationwide until the 49th memorial day for the family with developmental disabilities who were found dead in Cheongju on the 7th.
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