Organizations for people with disabilities in Changwon, Gyeongnam, have held a rally in response to the recent detailed guidelines issued by Changwon City regarding the operation of Independent Living Centers and Human Rights Centers for the disabled.
The Changwon Disability Rights Advocacy Group, which consists of Hanultari Independent Living Center for the Disabled, Changwon Independent Living Center for the Disabled, and Masan Independent Living Center for the Disabled, held a rally at 2 p.m. on the 30th in front of Changwon City Hall, urging, "Do not reduce the budget for guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities."
The Gyeongnam Changwon Disability Rights Assurance Group is marching around Changwon Square, demanding the withdrawal of the detailed guidelines for operating the Disability Rights Center and the acceptance of six major demands. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
They claimed that the detailed operational guidelines for the Independent Living Centers and Human Rights Centers for the disabled, sent by Changwon City, included instructions to reduce some of the projects run by disability organizations.
They criticized Changwon City for not expanding the number of users eligible for the additional 68-hour support service and the 24-hour support service for new severely disabled users, thereby threatening the right to survival of people with severe disabilities. They also accused the city of failing to keep its promises regarding the introduction of supportive housing for people with disabilities and the implementation of community settlement projects.
They raised their voices demanding the acceptance of six key demands: ▲Abolish the detailed operational guidelines for the Independent Living Centers and Human Rights Centers for the disabled ▲Guarantee 68 hours of additional support services for new severely disabled users ▲Convert the budget for Changwon Disability Community Transition Project into operational expenses for the centers ▲Restore the budget for Changwon Disability Community Transition Project ▲Establish regulations for paying instructor fees to partner instructors for people with developmental disabilities ▲Increase the per-person limit for the disability voucher taxi to 300,000 KRW.
The Gyeongnam Changwon Disability Rights Assurance Group is marching around Changwon Square, demanding the withdrawal of the detailed guidelines for operating the Disability Rights Center and the acceptance of six major demands. Photo by Lee Seryeong
Previously, Changwon City announced that it had discovered issues such as instructors for developmental disability awareness education at local Human Rights Centers for the disabled recording longer lecture times than actually conducted, and hiring individuals as assistant instructors in violation of the criteria (such as those who only demonstrated actions and practical exercises during the main instructor's session), thereby improperly receiving subsidies.
It was explained that most lectures were given by center directors and staff, and even when people with developmental disabilities were hired as assistant instructors, their participation was replaced with recorded videos of less than 10 minutes, which did not meet the criteria for instructor fee payments.
In response, it was decided to create payment guidelines for instructor fees by combining the instructor support standards of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled and the Gyeongnam Human Rights Center for the Disabled. The guidelines, which contain standards for subsidy payments and policy operation, were sent to each Human Rights Center for the disabled in June.
That afternoon, the organizations circled Changwon Square using wheelchairs and on foot, calling for the acceptance of the six key policy demands. During the march, the temperature in Changwon reached 36°C, with a perceived temperature exceeding 39°C.
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