Nam District Council Passes 'Rights-Centered Public Jobs Ordinance'
Concerns Over Conflicts in 'Priority' Among Agencies Due to Limited Budget
"Direction Widely Debated"... Customized Support Remains a Challenge
For the first time among local governments nationwide, a legal basis has been established in Nam-gu, Gwangju to guarantee the labor rights of persons with severe disabilities.
However, amid limited local government budgets and the need to create customized jobs for persons with severe disabilities, concerns have been raised about possible disputes over 'prioritization' among disability-related organizations. As such, measures are needed to enhance the effectiveness of the ordinance.
According to the Nam-gu Council of Gwangju on the 20th, the council held the 3rd plenary session of the 2nd regular meeting of the 308th session and passed as originally proposed the "Ordinance on Support for Rights-Based Customized Public Jobs for Persons with Severe Disabilities," initiated by council member Oh Youngsoon.
This ordinance, the first of its kind among local governments nationwide, defines the role of Nam-gu, Gwangju in developing, creating, and supporting jobs for persons with severe disabilities, who face particularly challenging employment environments.
The ordinance includes provisions on ▲the purpose and definitions of the ordinance ▲the responsibilities of the district mayor ▲the basic plan for public jobs ▲the public jobs committee ▲eligible targets for public job operation and support projects ▲support for educational linkage and cooperation with related agencies and organizations ▲administrative and financial support, among others.
Although similar ordinances have been continuously pursued by other local governments, such as by Kim Mikyung, a proportional representative of the Jeonnam Provincial Council (Justice Party), it is known that implementation has been delayed due to the burden of project budgets for job creation and coordination with the executive branch.
However, some have expressed concern that, as the specific direction of support through this ordinance has not yet been established, disputes among disability-related organizations could escalate.
Previously, the Gwangju Disability Discrimination Abolition Solidarity (Gwangju Jangchayeon) had planned to hold a press conference in the morning to welcome the legislative notice of the ordinance and urge its passage in the plenary session, but canceled the event. Gwangju Jangchayeon had intended to voice concerns about 'job concentration in certain organizations,' call for the 'nationwide spread of the ordinance,' and urge the council to pass the ordinance as originally proposed.
However, it is reported that the Nam-gu Welfare Center for the Disabled requested partial revisions to the press conference statement, arguing that language such as 'urging enactment' could create unnecessary conflict among council members and potentially lead to the ordinance being voted down.
As a result, there has been much discussion regarding the direction of support for customized jobs for persons with severe disabilities. Notably, the customized public jobs ordinance includes 'culture and arts' as a type of job, and the Nam-gu Welfare Center for the Disabled is already operating an arts group project.
In fact, since 2020, Nam-gu has supported the welfare center's arts groups (choir, orchestra, art, culture) with an operating budget of 227.9 million KRW, based on the ordinance supporting cultural and artistic activities for persons with disabilities in Nam-gu, Gwangju. By year, the support was 13 million KRW in 2020, 30 million KRW in 2021, 54.5 million KRW in 2022, 65.2 million KRW in 2023, and 65.2 million KRW in 2024.
A representative of Gwangju Jangchayeon said, "It is meaningful and welcome that the ordinance has been established for the first time nationwide. However, since the project requires a budget, it will be difficult for the local government to provide jobs for everyone, so prioritization is inevitable. There are concerns that the project may be concentrated in welfare centers that already have arts groups."
The representative added, "Even at the policy discussion held for the ordinance, only some organizations participated, so it is questionable whether the voices of all persons with severe disabilities in Nam-gu, Gwangju can be reflected. We will closely monitor the project implementation process to ensure that the intentions of all disability organizations are reflected."
In relation to this, a Nam-gu official said, "Since this is the first implementation among local governments nationwide, no separate plan has been established yet. We will consider various directions so that persons with severe disabilities can have a broader range of activities than before."
Oh Youngsoon, a Nam-gu council member, emphasized, "With this ordinance, any person with a severe disability should have the right to a job, and there should be no conflict between organizations. Starting with Nam-gu, Gwangju, this ordinance guaranteeing jobs for persons with severe disabilities should spread nationwide, and with the legal basis established in Nam-gu, the budget must also be secured."
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