"Explain Loan Products in an Easy-to-Understand Way"
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has recommended correcting the banking practice of refusing loans on the grounds of intellectual disability.
The complainant filed a petition with the NHRCK, stating that the victim, who has an intellectual disability, applied for a loan to pay the remaining balance of an apartment purchased through a special supply for persons with disabilities, but was refused by the respondent bank, which is the trustee bank for the Didimdol loan, due to the intellectual disability.
The respondent stated that the loan was not simply refused because of the intellectual disability, but that after verifying the victim’s capacity to contract and understanding of the main product details, it was confirmed that the victim’s comprehension was insufficient.
However, the NHRCK’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities judged that the respondent bank, after confirming the victim’s intellectual disability, did not specifically and individually assess the victim’s capacity to make decisions as stipulated in the work manual, and instead raised the victim’s capacity as an issue citing the possibility of future disputes, thereby refusing the loan. Such conduct by the respondent was deemed to be discrimination prohibited under Article 17 of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities without justifiable grounds.
Furthermore, considering that the purpose of the special supply for persons with disabilities under the Housing Supply Regulations is to promote housing stability for persons with disabilities, that the victim’s loan purpose was to secure a balance loan using the apartment in question as collateral to move in, and that the victim graduated from university in 2014 and has been economically active for 10 years since employment in the same year, it was judged that the respondent bank’s refusal of the loan lacked rationality.
Accordingly, on the 31st of last month, the NHRCK recommended the respondent to ▲ allow the loan screening process to be re-conducted if the victim wishes to obtain the loan ▲ correct the practice of requiring a guardianship certificate or a court ruling stating that a guardian is not necessary without specifically and individually assessing the capacity of intellectually disabled applicants when applying for loans ▲ comply with the 'Manual for Responding to Persons with Disabilities' by using easy-to-understand words and expressions when verifying the capacity of intellectually disabled persons.
Additionally, the NHRCK recommended the Financial Supervisory Service Governor to thoroughly guide and supervise financial companies, including the respondent bank, to prevent recurrence of similar cases, and recommended the Chairman of the Financial Services Commission to prepare easy-to-understand guides for financial products such as loans, considering the characteristics of persons with developmental disabilities.
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