Park Jiwon: "Mandatory Accessibility Services for People with Disabilities in Local Council Meeting Broadcasts"

Representative Proposal for the "Local Autonomy Act Amendment"
Provision of Closed Captions, Sign Language, and Audio Descriptions
"Strengthening Information Accessibility for People with Disabilities Expected"

Park Jiwon, Member of the National Assembly.

Park Jie-won, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Haenam, Wando, and Jindo in South Jeolla Province), proposed a revision to the Local Autonomy Act on the 3rd. The main point of the bill is to mandate the provision of accessibility services for people with disabilities when broadcasting plenary or standing committee meetings of local councils via internal broadcasts or internet streaming.

The current Local Autonomy Act stipulates that meetings such as plenary sessions or standing committee meetings of local councils must be open to the public in principle. It also specifies that the chairperson of the local council must provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities who have been granted permission to attend the open meetings.

However, although most local councils have been broadcasting plenary sessions and other meetings online to improve accessibility to meeting information, there have been ongoing criticisms that accessibility services such as closed captions, sign language interpretation, or audio descriptions are not being properly provided. As a result, access for people with visual and hearing impairments remains significantly limited.

The proposed amendment specifies the legal basis for broadcasting plenary and standing committee meetings and mandates the provision of Korean sign language interpretation and closed captions during such broadcasts.

Park stated, "This amendment is a bill to strengthen information accessibility for people with disabilities," adding, "There may be some financial burden on local councils, but it should be a manageable cost."